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Biopolymer Grafting:
Applications
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ADVANCES IN POLYMERS AND FIBERS
Biopolymer Grafting:
Applications
Edited by
Vijay Kumar Thakur
Elsevier
Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
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Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment
may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating
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contained in the material herein.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


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Publisher: Matthew Deans


Acquisition Editor: David Jackson
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Typeset by TNQ Books and Journals
To my parents and teachers who helped me become what I am today.
Vijay Kumar Thakur
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Contributors........................................................................................................... xv
About the Editor ............................................................................................................. xvii
Preface.............................................................................................................................. xix

CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach ........ 1


Anupama Setia
1. Introduction................................................................................................1
1.1 Graft Copolymerization ..................................................................... 3
1.2 Concept of Molecular Brushes .......................................................... 3
1.3 Approaches for Graft Copolymerization ........................................... 4
1.4 Applications ..................................................................................... 20
1.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 32
References ..................................................................................................... 32
CHAPTER 2 Grafting of Hydroxyapatite for Biomedical Applications........................ 45
Pau Turon, Luís J. del Valle, Carlos Alemán, Jordi Puiggalí
1. Introduction..............................................................................................45
2. Control of Size and Morphology of Hydroxyapatite Crystals:
Ion Substitution of Hydroxyapatite .........................................................46
3. Hydroxyapatite Exfoliated Nanoplates by Surface Modification............49
4. Surface Modification of Hydroxyapatite to Improve Protein
Adsorption ...............................................................................................50
5. Antibacterial Coatings for Hydroxyapatite Particles ...............................51
6. Scaffolds and Membranes Based on Electrospun Nanofibers
Containing Hydroxyapatite......................................................................53
7. Polymer Grafting on Hydroxyapatite Surfaces .......................................56
8. Cross-Linked Structures Based on Hydroxyapatite Surfaces..................63
9. Conclusions..............................................................................................68
Acknowledgments ........................................................................................ 70
References .....................................................................................................70
CHAPTER 3 Grafting of Hydrophilic Monomers Onto Cellulosic Polymers for
Medical Applications .................................................................................. 81
Nursel Pekel Bayramgil
1. Introduction..............................................................................................81
2. Modifications of Cellulosic Polymers .....................................................83
2.1 Grafting ............................................................................................ 85
2.2 Commonly Used Monomers for Grafting Onto Cellulose .............. 87

vii
viii Contents

3. Basic Medical Applications of Hydrophilic Monomer Grafted


Cellulosic Polymers .................................................................................93
3.1 Drug Delivery .................................................................................. 93
3.2 Hemodialysis ................................................................................... 97
3.3 Platelet Adhesion ........................................................................... 102
3.4 Antimicrobial Activity ................................................................... 104
3.5 Others............................................................................................. 106
4. Conclusion .............................................................................................108
References ................................................................................................... 108
Further Reading ..........................................................................................114
CHAPTER 4 Surface Functionalization With Biopolymers via Plasma-Assisted
Surface Grafting and Plasma-Induced Graft Polymerizationd
Materials for Biomedical Applications .................................................... 115
Agnieszka Kyzioł, Karol Kyzioł
1. Introduction............................................................................................115
2. Fundamentals of Grafting Techniques ..................................................117
2.1 Grafting Polymerization................................................................. 119
2.2 ‘‘Grafting From”, ‘‘Grafting to”, and ‘‘Grafting Through”
Approaches .................................................................................... 120
3. Surface Modification of Biomaterials by Grafting Techniques ............123
3.1 Factors Influencing the Properties of Surfaces With Grafted
Biopolymers................................................................................... 124
3.2 Biocompatibility of Functionalized Surfaces ................................ 130
3.3 Surface Modifications Imparting Drug Delivery Functionality .... 134
4. Surface Functionalization of Biomaterials by Plasma-Induced
Grafting Polymerization ........................................................................137
5. Conclusions and Future Perspectives ....................................................143
References ................................................................................................... 145
CHAPTER 5 Synthesis and Application as Programmable Water Soluble Adhesive
of Polyacrylamide Grafted Gum Tragacanth (GT-g-PAM) ...................... 153
Pinki Pal, Jay Prakash Pandey, Gautam Sen
1. Introduction............................................................................................153
1.1 Classification of Polymers ........................................................... 155
1.2 Chemical Bonding in Polymers................................................... 155
1.3 Types of Primary Bonds.............................................................. 156
1.4 Secondary Bonding Forces.......................................................... 156
1.5 Synthetic Versus Natural Polymer .............................................. 157
1.6 Gum Tragacanth .......................................................................... 158
Contents ix

1.7Grafting: A Promising Technique for Modification.................... 159


1.8Methods of Graft Copolymerization............................................ 161
1.9Microwave Radiation: A Viable Case......................................... 168
1.10The Present Study: Microwave-Assisted Method of Graft
Copolymerization......................................................................... 169
1.11 Adhesive ...................................................................................... 169
1.12 Theories of Adhesion .................................................................. 169
2. Experimental ..........................................................................................173
2.1 Materials ........................................................................................ 173
2.2 Synthesis of GT-g-PAM by Microwave-Assisted Process ........... 173
2.3 Characterization ............................................................................. 175
2.4 Instrumental Analysis .................................................................... 176
2.5 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry ............................ 177
2.6 Investigation of Adhesive Property of Graft Copolymer .............. 182
3. Results and Discussions ........................................................................186
3.1 Synthesis of GT-g-PAM by Microwave-Assisted Process ........... 186
3.2 Characterization ............................................................................. 190
3.3 Instrumental Analysis .................................................................... 191
3.4 Determination of Adhesive Strength ............................................. 193
4. Conclusion .............................................................................................198
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................... 198
References ...................................................................................................199
CHAPTER 6 Radiation Grafting of Biopolymers and Synthetic Polymers:
Synthesis and Biomedical Applications .................................................. 205
Victor H. Pino-Ramos, H. Iván Meléndez-Ortiz,
Alejandro Ramos-Ballesteros, Emilio Bucio
1. Introduction............................................................................................205
2. Biopolymers...........................................................................................206
2.1 Natural Biopolymers...................................................................... 206
2.2 Synthetic Biopolymers................................................................... 210
3. Properties of Biopolymers .....................................................................212
3.1 Density ........................................................................................... 213
3.2 Solubility........................................................................................ 213
3.3 Mechanical Properties.................................................................... 214
3.4 Thermal Properties......................................................................... 215
3.5 Biodegradability............................................................................. 217
3.6 Properties of Main Petroleum-Based Biopolymers ....................... 218
4. Grafting Methods Applied to Biopolymers...........................................221
4.1 Conventional Method by Chemical Means ................................... 222
x Contents

4.2 Microwave Method........................................................................ 222


4.3 High Energy Radiation Methods ................................................... 224
5. Radiation Grafting of Biopolymers .......................................................224
5.1 Radiation Grafting of Chitosan ..................................................... 226
5.2 Radiation Grafting of Cellulose..................................................... 228
5.3 Radiation Grafting of Alginate ...................................................... 231
5.4 Radiation Grafting of Gelatin ........................................................ 232
6. Biomedical Applications........................................................................232
6.1 Polymers in Biomedical Uses........................................................ 233
6.2 Application of Stimuli Responsive Polymers................................ 234
7. Potential Medical Devices .....................................................................237
7.1 Lysozyme Immobilization Onto PVC Urinary Catheters ............. 237
7.2 Functionalized Prodrug Onto Polypropylene Films for Drug
Delivery of Salicylic Acid ............................................................. 237
7.3 IPNs Grafted of N-isopropylacrylamide and Acrylic Acid
Onto Polyurethane Catheters for Medical Devices ....................... 238
8. Conclusions............................................................................................238
Acknowledgments....................................................................................... 239
References ...................................................................................................239
CHAPTER 7 Derivatized Chitosan: Fundamentals to Applications............................ 251
Deepali Rahangdale, Anupama Kumar
1. Introduction............................................................................................251
2. Modification of Chitosan .......................................................................254
2.1 Physical Modification .................................................................... 254
2.2 Chemical Modification .................................................................. 256
3. Density Functional Theory ....................................................................267
4. Molecular Imprinting Technique ...........................................................269
5. Applications ...........................................................................................270
5.1 Dye Removal ................................................................................. 270
5.2 Antibacterial Activity..................................................................... 271
5.3 Metal Ion Removal ........................................................................ 273
5.4 Wastewater Treatment ................................................................... 275
5.5 Biomedical Applications................................................................ 277
6. Conclusion .............................................................................................277
References ................................................................................................... 278
Contents xi

CHAPTER 8 Grafted Copolymerized Chitosan and Its Applications as a Green


Biopolymer ................................................................................................ 285
May-Yuan Wong, Bahman Amini Horri, Babak Salamatinia
1. Introduction..........................................................................................285
2. Polyethylene Glycol-g-Chitosan..........................................................287
2.1 Synthesis of Polyethylene Glycol-g-Chitosan via Schiff Base
Reaction Scheme ......................................................................... 288
2.2 Synthesis of Polyethylene Glycol-g-Chitosan via Genipin
Cross-Linking Reaction ............................................................... 289
2.3 Synthesis of Semiinterpenetrating Networks Polyethylene
Glycol-Chitosan via Glutaraldehyde Cross-Linking ................... 291
2.4 Synthesis of Polyethylene Glycol-Chitosan via Carbodiimide
Cross-Linking .............................................................................. 292
2.5 Synthesis of Polyethylene GlycoleChitosan Composite
via Blending................................................................................. 292
2.6 Synthesis of o-Substituted Polyethylene Glycol-o-Chitosan....... 293
2.7 Application of Polyethylene Glycol-g-Chitosan in
Immunotherapy ............................................................................ 294
2.8 Application of Polyethylene Glycol-g-Chitosan in In Vitro
Cancer Model .............................................................................. 295
2.9 Application of Polyethylene Glycol-g-Chitosan in Gene
Transfection Therapy ................................................................... 296
3. Poly(vinyl alcohol)-g-Chitosan ...........................................................298
3.1 Synthesis of Chitosan-g-Poly(vinyl alcohol) via Radiation
Technique..................................................................................... 299
4. Alkylated Chitosans.............................................................................299
4.1 Synthesis of N-Alkylated-Grafted Chitosan
(Hydroxymethylated-g-Chitosan) ................................................ 300
4.2 Synthesis of Disaccharide-Grafted Chitosan ............................... 300
4.3 Synthesis of Amylose-Grafted Chitosan ..................................... 301
5. Polyacrylamide-g-Chitosan..................................................................301
5.1 Synthesis of Polyacrylic Acid-g-Chitosan................................. 301
5.2 Synthesis of Polyacrylamide-g-Hydroxyethylcellulose-
g-Chitosan.................................................................................. 301
5.3 Synthesis of Polyacrylate-g-Chitosan Doped Metal Ions.......... 302
5.4 Application of Polyacrylamide-Grafted Chitosan and
Polyacrylic AcideGrafted Chitosan for Adsorption of Dyes ... 303
5.5 Application of Polyacrylate-Polyacrylamide-g-Chitosan,
PAMCS in Enhanced Oil Recovery .......................................... 304
xii Contents

5.6 Synthesis of Polyacrylamide-g-Chitosan Nanobeads via


Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization Approach .................... 305
5.7 Synthesis of Polyacrylamide-g-Chitosan Nanorug via
“Grafting-Through” Approach................................................... 306
5.8 Synthesis of Polyacrylamide-g- Polystyrene-g-Chitosan
Hybrid Molecular Brush Prepared via Grafting-to Approach... 309
5.9 Synthesis of Hydrophobically Modified Chitosan-g-Magnetic
Nanoparticles ............................................................................. 310
5.10 Synthesis of Fe3O4-Magnetic Nanoparticle-M Chitosan
Nanoparticles ............................................................................. 310
6. Cyclodextrin-Linked Chitosans ...........................................................312
6.1 Cyclodextrins-Chitosan With Adamantane ................................. 312
6.2 Chitosan-Grafted Polyethylene Glycol Methacrylate Mixed
With a-CD Composite................................................................. 313
7. Protein-Grafted Chitosan .....................................................................314
7.1 CollageneChondroitin-SulfateeChitosan ................................... 314
7.2 Polylysine-Grafted-Chitosan........................................................ 315
7.3 Polyethylene Glycol-poly(L-alanine-co-L-phenyl alanine)-
Grafted Chitosan .......................................................................... 315
8. Catechol-g-Chitosan ............................................................................316
9. Acid-Grafted Chitosan.........................................................................317
9.1 Azidobenzoic-g-Chitosan Hydrogel ............................................ 317
9.2 Polylactic Acid-g-Chitosan.......................................................... 318
9.3 Polymaleic Acid-g-Chitosan........................................................ 319
9.4 Polylactic AcideGrafted Chitosans............................................. 319
10. Others...................................................................................................322
10.1 Chitosan-Graphene Oxide: The Making of Antimicrobial
Film............................................................................................ 322
10.2 Chondroitin Sulfate-S: The Making of a Biosorbent of
Caustic DyeeContaining Wastewater ....................................... 322
10.3 Chitosan-Glycerol Phosphate Hydrogel .................................... 323
10.4 ChitosaneAlginate Hydrogel .................................................... 324
10.5 Polyethylene OxideeChitosan Blend........................................ 325
10.6 Carboxymethylated Chitosan..................................................... 326
11. Summary..............................................................................................327
12. Conclusion ...........................................................................................329
References ................................................................................................... 330
Contents xiii

CHAPTER 9 Grafting Onto Biopolymers: Application in Targeted Drug Delivery ... 335
Saundray R. Soni, Animesh Ghosh
1. Introduction............................................................................................335
2. Biopolymers...........................................................................................341
2.1 Classification of Biopolymers........................................................ 341
3. Biopolymers Grafting ............................................................................352
3.1 Grafting Strategy............................................................................ 352
3.2 Grafting Techniques ...................................................................... 353
4. Applications as Stimuli Responsive Targeted Drug Delivery
System....................................................................................................359
4.1 Temperature Responsive Polymers: Applications in Targeted
Drug Delivery System ................................................................... 360
4.2 pH Responsive Polymers: Applications in Targeted Drug
Delivery System............................................................................. 363
5. Applications as Receptor Targeted Drug Delivery System...................367
5.1 Targeting via Folate Receptors...................................................... 367
5.2 Targeting via RGD Peptide Toward Integrin Receptors ............... 371
6. Application of Grafted Biopolymers in Controlled Drug
Delivery System.....................................................................................372
7. Concluding Remarks .............................................................................375
Acknowledgments....................................................................................... 375
References ...................................................................................................379
CHAPTER 10 Fibroin Grafting Onto Wool Fibers: Recent Advances and
Applications ............................................................................................. 391
Franco Ferrero, Anna Garetto, Raffaella Mossotti, Claudio Tonin
1. Introduction.......................................................................................... 391
2. Grafting of Epoxy Resins Onto Wool................................................. 393
3. Grafting of Epoxy Resins Onto Silk ................................................... 397
4. Materials .............................................................................................. 400
4.1 Wool .............................................................................................400
4.2 Fibroin...........................................................................................400
4.3 Epoxy Resins ................................................................................402
5. Experimental Methods......................................................................... 403
5.1 Laboratory Equipment ..................................................................403
5.2 Morphology Analyses...................................................................403
5.3 Spectrophotometric and Thermal Analyses..................................404
5.4 Determination of Amino Groups by the Ninhydrin Assay ..........404
5.5 Epoxy Equivalent Determination .................................................405
xiv Contents

5.6 Amino Acid Composition by High-Performance Liquid


Chromatography ...........................................................................405
6. Results and Discussion ........................................................................ 406
6.1 Grafting of Epoxides on Wool .....................................................406
6.2 Fibroin Grafting on Epoxidated Wool..........................................417
7. Conclusions.......................................................................................... 426
References ................................................................................................. 427
CHAPTER 11 Grafting Modification of Wood for High Performance........................ 431
Yongfeng Li, Xiaoying Dong
1. Introduction.......................................................................................... 431
2. Materials and Methods ........................................................................ 434
2.1 Materials .......................................................................................434
2.2 Methods ........................................................................................435
3. Grafting Modification of Wood by Polymer ....................................... 438
3.1 Synthesis of the Target Functional Monomer ..............................438
3.2 Grafting Modification of Wood by Copolymerization of
Glycidyl Methacrylate and the Synthesized Monomer ................440
4. Grafting Modification of Wood by OrganiceInorganic Hybrid
Polymer Derived From the Doping Method ....................................... 448
5. Grafting Modification of Wood by OrganiceInorganic Hybrid
Polymer Derived From the SoleGel Method ..................................... 459
6. Conclusions.......................................................................................... 468
Acknowledgments ..................................................................................... 469
References ................................................................................................. 469
Further Reading ........................................................................................ 471
CHAPTER 12 Processing and Characterization of Grafted Bio-composites:
A Review .................................................................................................. 473
Anbukarasi Kathiresan, Sivakumar Kalaiselvam
1. Introduction.......................................................................................... 473
2. Graft Polymerization Process .............................................................. 474
2.1 Grafting of Biopolymer ................................................................476
2.2 Grafting of Bio-fiber .....................................................................487
3. Conclusion ........................................................................................... 506
References ................................................................................................. 506

Index ............................................................................................................................... 513


List of Contributors
Carlos Alemán
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Bahman Amini Horri
University of Surrey, Surrey, United Kingdom
Emilio Bucio
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, CDMX, Mexico
Luís J. del Valle
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Xiaoying Dong
Shandong Provincial University Key Laboratory of Silviculture; Shandong Institute of
Wood Science; Forestry College, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
Franco Ferrero
Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Anna Garetto
CNR e ISMAC, Institute for Macromolecular Studies, Biella, Italy
Animesh Ghosh
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India
Sivakumar Kalaiselvam
Anna University, Chennai, India
Anbukarasi Kathiresan
Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology, Vellore, India; Anna University,
Chennai, India
Anupama Kumar
Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India
Agnieszka Kyzioł
Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
Karol Kyzioł
AGH University of Science and Technology, Kraków, Poland
Yongfeng Li
Shandong Provincial University Key Laboratory of Silviculture; Shandong Institute of
Wood Science; Forestry College, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
H. Iván Meléndez-Ortiz
CONACyTeCentro de Investigación en Química Aplicada, Saltillo, Mexico
Raffaella Mossotti
CNR e ISMAC, Institute for Macromolecular Studies, Biella, Italy
Pinki Pal
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India

xv
xvi List of Contributors

Jay Prakash Pandey


Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India
Nursel Pekel Bayramgil
Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Victor H. Pino-Ramos
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, CDMX, Mexico
Jordi Puiggalí
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Deepali Rahangdale
Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India
Alejandro Ramos-Ballesteros
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, CDMX, Mexico
Babak Salamatinia
Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
Gautam Sen
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India
Anupama Setia
Jan Nayak Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial College of Pharmacy, Sirsa, India
Saundray R. Soni
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India
Claudio Tonin
CNR e ISMAC, Institute for Macromolecular Studies, Biella, Italy
Pau Turon
B. Braun Surgical, Barcelona, Spain
May-Yuan Wong
Monash University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
About the Editor
Vijay Kumar Thakur, PhD; MSc

Faculty in Manufacturing

Enhanced Composites and Structures Center

School of Aerospace, Transport, and Manufacturing

Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL

Prior to commencing in the School of Aerospace, Transport, and Manufacturing


at Cranfield University, Dr. Vijay Kumar Thakur was working as a Staff
Scientist in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at
Washington State University in the United States (2013e16). Some of his
other prior significant appointments include being a Research Scientist in
Temasek Laboratories at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
(2009e12), and a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical
and Materials Engineering at LHUeTaiwan. He did his postdoctoral study in
Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University and received a
PhD in Polymer Chemistry (2009).

In his academic career, he has published more than 100 SCI journal research
articles in the field of chemical sciences/materials science and holds one US
patent. He has also published 33 books and 35 book chapters on the advanced
state-of-the-art of polymer science/materials science/nanotechnology with
numerous publishers. His research interests include the synthesis and
processing of biobased polymers and composites, nanostructured materials,
hydrogels, polymer micro/nanocomposites, nanoelectronic materials, novel
high dielectric constant materials, engineering nanomaterials, electrochromic
materials, green synthesis of nanomaterials, and surface functionalization
of polymers/nanomaterials. Application aspects range from automotive to
aerospace, energy storage, water purification, and biomedical fields.

Vijay is an editorial board member of several international journals, as well


as a member of scientific bodies around the globe. Some of his significant
appointments include Associate Editor for Materials Express (SCI);
Advisory Editor for SpringerPlus (SCI); Editor for Energies (SCI); Editor

xvii
xviii About the Editor

for Cogent Chemistry (SCI); Associate Editor for Current Smart Materials;
Associate Editor for Current Applied Polymer Science; Regional Editor
for Recent Patents on Materials Science (Scopus); and Regional Editor for
Current Biochemical Engineering (CAS). He also serves on the Editorial
Advisory Board of Polymers for Advanced Technologies (SCI) and is on
the Editorial Board of Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part A: Pure
and Applied Chemistry (SCI), International Journal of Industrial
Chemistry (SCI), Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry (SCI), and
Advances in Natural Sciences: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (SCI).
Preface
There is growing interest in biopolymer-based materials all over the universe, especially if the
materials are based on renewable raw materials. The use of renewable resources is becoming
more and more important in present civilizations. It is intensively connected to natural
bioresources, agricultural production, and new developments in biobased materials. In fact,
sustainable development has become a key idea. Sustainable development over the next
century requires the use of natural polymer-based materials from renewable resources as
alternatives to the Earth’s limited petroleum resources. The 21st century offers enormous
challenges but also exciting opportunities at economic and environmental levels.

Among various materials, natural biopolymers are the most abundant polymer found in nature;
they are found in plants and trees, along with other biomass. Though this research in general has
become prevalent, studies pertinent to biobased materials are limited compared to synthetic
polymers. The prime reason for this is the inherent disadvantages of these materials such as
hydrophilic nature and poor resistance to chemicals/weathering conditions. Improvements in
the surface modification of biopolymers through graft copolymerization are enormously
important because they will widen the scope of their applications. The development of new
graft copolymer materials from biopolymers with excellent mechanical and barrier properties
has been an important research challenge for industries for promising applications of their
products. Hence advances in graft copolymerization of biopolymers with excellent
mechanical and barrier properties have been an important research challenge. Biopolymer
Grafting: Applications is organized in such a manner to provide the most relevant and
realistic information on natural polymer-based graft copolymers for different applications
including automotive, toxic ion removals, biomedical, defense, etc. The book bridges the
knowledge gap between the scientific principles and industrial applications of polymer grafting.

This volume of the book series Advances in Polymer and Fibers is solely focused on the
“applications” of biopolymer-based graft copolymers. Some of the important topics include,
but are not limited to: graft copolymerization: a revolutionary approach; grafting of
hydroxyapatite for biomedical applications; grafting of hydrophilic monomers onto cellulosic
polymers for medical applications; surface functionalization with biopolymers via plasma-
assisted surface grafting and plasma-induced graft polymerization; synthesis and application
as programmable water-soluble adhesive of polyacrylamide grafted gum; radiation grafting of
biopolymers and synthetic polymers: synthesis and biomedical applications; processing and
characterization of grafted biocomposites; derivatized chitosan: fundamentals to applications;
grafted copolymerized chitosan and its applications as a green biopolymer; grafting onto
biopolymers: application in targeted drug delivery; chitosan grafted copolymers for drug
delivery applications; fibroin grafting onto wool fibers: recent advances and applications; and
grafting modification of wood for high performance.

xix
xx Preface

Several critical issues and suggestions for future work are comprehensively discussed in this
volume with the hope that the book will provide a deep insight into the state-of-the-art of
“Biopolymer Grafting: Applications” of the biopolymer-based graft copolymers. I would like
to thank Elsevier and Jennifer Pierce for the invaluable help in the organization of the editing
process. Finally, I would like to thank my parents and spouse for their continuous
encouragement and support.

Vijay Kumar Thakur, PhD


Cranfield University, United Kingdom
Applications of Graft Copolymerization:
Chapter
1
A Revolutionary Approach
Anupama Setia
Jan Nayak Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial College of Pharmacy, Sirsa, India

1. INTRODUCTION
Natural polysaccharides are polymeric carbohydrates that are abundant in
nature including animals, plants, and marine sources. They contain repeti-
tive units that are joined together by glycoside linkages with various
branches (Gao and Yan, 2004; Lapasin and Pricl, 1995). Polysaccharides
have been proven to be widely used in the food (Sahoo et al., 2013), phar-
macy (Pillai et al., 2009), and industry (Meshram et al., 2009; Yu et al.,
2011) sectors, as well as many more diversified fields. They are preferred
over synthetic polymers due to their availability, nontoxicity, and low
cost, though they possess certain disadvantages of being thermosensitive,
prone to microbial contamination, lowering of viscosity during storage,
and sensitive to highly stressful conditions (Gupta et al., 2004). To overcome
these drawbacks, various modification approaches have come to attention,
e.g., etherification (Edgar et al., 2001), cross-linking (Bastos et al., 2009),
derivatization of functional groups (Battaerd and Treglar, 1967; Fares
et al., 2003; Haag et al., 2004; Jenkins and Hudson, 2001; Kaith and Kalia,
2008a,b; Moreira et al., 1997; Reis et al., 2007; Shi et al., 2007), and graft
copolymerization using chemical, radiation, photochemical, plasma-
induced, and enzymatic methods (Bastos et al., 2009; Kalia et al., 2011;
Rana et al., 2015; Roy et al., 2009). Graft copolymerization is found to be
the most assuring overture among the aforementioned approaches, as deriv-
atization of gum has only limited attributes (Fares et al., 2003); especially,
the increase in molecular weight cannot be achieved due to lesser attach-
ments of the functional groups. Also the introduction of new functional
groups changes the charge on the molecule, molecular chain’s aggregation
state, hydrophilicehydrophobic capability (Cunha and Gandini, 2010),
capacity to form complexes (Moreira et al., 1997), ability to respond to
the stimulus, and rheological behavior of gums (Lapasin and Pricl, 1995),

Biopolymer Grafting: Applications. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-810462-0.00001-6


Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1
2 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

due to which application domain of the gums was found to be increased but
up to an extent.
Graft copolymerization has multifaceted potential, which has been exploited
by the scientists to introduce targeted properties in the copolymer devel-
oped. Apart from the alteration in melting point, permeability, elasticity,
solubility, chemical reactivity, and glass transition temperature due to graft
copolymerization, there has been no change in the biodegradable nature of
the polymer, making this tool much more advantageous (Fares et al., 2003;
Haag et al., 2004; Shi et al., 2007). Depending upon the monomer grafted on
the polysaccharide, the properties of the upcoming product (Kalia and Sabaa,
2013) are selected.
Grafting has been recognized as the authentic method, which can make
changes in the structure of the polymer by reacting with the synthetic mono-
mer and hence lead to the formation of a new biomaterial that is much more
sophisticated when compared with its native polysaccharide, which suffers
from the severe enzymatic attack and also from uncontrolled swelling and
erosion (Jenkins and Hudson, 2001).
A graft copolymer is nothing but a combination of a polymer (trunk
polymer) and a synthetic monomer reacted together to make a macromole-
cule where a main chain, also called the backbone of the polymer, has the
monomer attached continuously as the side chain, leading to the formation
of the copolymer. The functional groups of both the constituents attach
themselves by covalent bonding. Although graft copolymerization is very
advantageous and an effective method of altering the properties of the
polymer, it also suffers from one drawback, i.e., formation of concurrent
homopolymer, which is the major constraint in grafting, resulting in lower
yield (Battaerd and Treglar, 1967).
Various methods of grafting are available and are further described in detail;
among them, redox initiator-induced grafting is the one of the conventional
methods, which has been replaced by microwave-irradiated grafting due to
numerous disadvantages like lengthy continuance of reaction, unwanted
homopolymer formation, degradation of the polymer, use of catalyst, and
also due to the advantages of microwave-irradiated grafting (Rana et al.,
2015).
Microwave irradiation significantly reduces the reaction time for almost all
the grafting reactions as well as the use of the toxic solvents, leading to high
yields, clean product formations, and product selectivity. The applications
of grafting have been exploited by miscellaneous systems as per change
in the properties of the graft copolymer for corresponding active ingredient,
1. Introduction 3

flocculating agents (Barikani and Mohammadi, 2007), and targeted (Sun


et al., 1999), controlled, and sustained drug delivery carriers, (Soppimath
et al., 2001) adsorption of toxic heavy metals and dyes (Crini, 2005),
water-saving materials, sand-binding materials, daily chemicals, thickening
agents, electrical biomaterials, macromolecular surfactants, and water treat-
ment processes (Wang and Wang, 2013).

1.1 Graft Copolymerization


When two different monomers club repetitively in a sequence, the polymer
is called a copolymer. The pattern in which the copolymer and the monomer
will be attached is decided by the comparative responsiveness of the mono-
mer and the polymer. The copolymer can further be classified as block
copolymer, random copolymer, alternate copolymer, and the graft copol-
ymer. When monomer units are present in an ordered form, it is called an
alternate copolymer, whereas when it is attached randomly, it is called a
random copolymer. Block copolymer is a combination of two or more seg-
ments of different polymers, which are linearly joined end-to-end (Battaerd
and Treglar, 1967; Zohuriaan-Mehr, 2005). Graft copolymer is composed of
a natural polymer and a synthetic polymer in which the natural polymer acts
as a backbone of the grafted copolymer, and a synthetic monomer acts as the
side chain, which is attached to the preformed polymer at various sites. The
synthetic polymer could be monomer or a vinyl monomer or it can be a
binary mixture. The grafting reactions in which only monomers are involved
can be completed within one step; however, graft copolymerization
involving vinyl monomers or the mixtures involves a series of reactions
by sequentially or simultaneously adding the monomers to the grafting
reaction. Graft copolymerization involves the presence of vinyl group on
the preformed polymer chain as an essential requirement of the reaction to
occur. The medium in which graft copolymerization can be done could be
homogeneous, i.e., single phase, or could be heterogeneous (biphasic); it
totally depends upon the solubility of the polymers and monomers involved
(Rana et al., 2015).

1.2 Concept of Molecular Brushes


Molecular brushes are recognized as a macromolecular structure that con-
sists of a main polymeric backbone with side chains attached by covalent
or noncovalent bonding, which looks like a bottle brush. The side chains
of this macromolecule make it unique, and it looks like the microvillus
on the intestinal surface. The multibranched side chains have specific and
special features compared to the linear polymers of similar molecular
weights. The hypothetical structure of the molecular brushes has been
4 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

shown in Fig. 1.1. The concept of molecular brushes has wider applications
and can be synthesized by the different approaches of graft copolymeriza-
tion, as discussed in detail in the next section (Sheiko et al., 2008; Zhang
and Müller, 2005).

1.3 Approaches for Graft Copolymerization


There are three basic approaches that are responsible for the formation of
the graft copolymer. They are “grafting on”, “grafting from”, and “grafting
through”.

1.3.1 Grafting On
The grafting on approach involves the coupling reaction between the poly-
mer chain containing randomly distributed active functional groups X on
the backbone (Fig. 1.2) with the functional groups (Y) at the chain ends
of the other reactive polymer. The coupling or the covalent reaction

n FIGURE 1.1 Hypothetical diagram of molecular brushes.

n FIGURE 1.2 Schematic presentation of grafting on approach of graft copolymerization.


1. Introduction 5

responsible for grafting can be made possible by alterations employing


different chemical approaches, e.g., living system, free radical, anionic,
and atom transfer radical polymerization techniques. The grafting on process
basically employs the anionic polymerization technique for the reaction to
occur (Hadjichristidis et al., 2004).

1.3.2 Grafting From


Chemical modification of the macromolecular backbone is done to generate
active sites on it that would have the capability of initializing the monomer
polymerization reactions (Fig. 1.3). The number of chains of the monomer
grafted can be easily controlled by controlling the generation of the active
sites. Further generation of the active sites can be controlled by varying
the type of initiator and reactions. Numbers of reaction mechanisms have
been already discussed in the literature in detail, i.e., free radical, anionic,
and cationic graft copolymerization and also atom transfer radical graft
copolymerization technique. The graft copolymers thus synthesized have
different chain lengths, which may be due to the steric ion hindrance effects
(Boerner and Matyjaszewski, 2002; Gao and Matyjaszewski, 2007; Inceoglu
et al., 2004; Inoue and Matyjaszewski, 2004; Inoue et al., 2004; Kobayashi
and Mullen, 2015; Lutz et al., 2004; Neugebauer et al., 2006; Okrasa et al.,
2004; Paik et al., 1998; Percec and Asgarzadeh, 2001; Shinoda et al., 2001,
2003; Tsarevsky et al., 2007; Van Camp et al., 2007).

1.3.3 Grafting Through Method


Another approach or mechanism of grafting is via the grafting through
method, in which the participating monomer is mainly the vinyl functional
groups that get copolymerized with the polymer (Fig. 1.4). It may or may
not use the initiator for the reaction to proceed as the function groups are pre-
made only. The monomer involved in this approach is usually of lower

n FIGURE 1.3 Schematic presentation of grafting from approach of graft copolymerization.


6 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

molecular weight, and the polymer involved is acrylate functionalized


polymer (macromonomer). Based on the reactivity of the functional group
present on the terminal portion of the monomer, the homogeneous or hetero-
geneous nature of the graft copolymer is decided. The ratio of concentration
of monomers and polymers also have significant effect on the outcome of the
product and the ratio of both changes as the reaction proceeds due to branch-
ing of the monomers onto the polymer backbone. The grafting through
process can proceed by using any of the polymerization techniques given
in the grafting on and from methods, and due to its flexible nature, it is
the most extensively studied and used (Battaerd and Treglar, 1967; Boerner
and Matyjaszewski, 2002; Gao and Matyjaszewski, 2007; Hadjichristidis
et al., 2004; Inceoglu et al., 2004; Inoue and Matyjaszewski, 2004;
Inoue et al., 2004; Kobayashi and Mullen, 2015; Lutz et al., 2004;
Neugebauer et al., 2006; Okrasa et al., 2004; Paik et al., 1998; Percec and
Asgarzadeh, 2001; Shinoda et al., 2001, 2003; Tsarevsky et al., 2007; Van
Camp et al., 2007).

1.3.4 Grafting by Chemical Method


Graft copolymers are usually prepared by the following steps using conven-
tional chemical methods:
n generation of the free radicals
n free radicals as macroinitiators
n graft polymerization of macroinitiators with the vinyl or acrylic
monomer
Free radicals can be generated by the use of chemicals as initiators, which
create the active sites on the backbone of the polymer. A number of initiator
systems such as ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) ammonium persulfate,
potassium persulfate used in free radical polymerization, thiocarbonation po-
tassium bromate, potassium diperiodatocuprate (III), azobisisobutyronitrile

n FIGURE 1.4 Schematic presentation of grafting through approach of graft copolymerization.


1. Introduction 7

(AIBN), and ferrous ammonium sulfate in other polymerization techniques


have already been developed to initiate graft copolymerization process or
generate free radicals. Table 1.1 describes the different types of initiators
used to initiate the various grafting reactions along with monomers and poly-
saccharides. This type of technique leads to the formation of graft copolymers
that have many applications in industrial production. The properties of the
copolymer formed are mainly affected by the length, molecular structure,
and number of side chains (Chiang, 1996; Cho and Lee, 2002; Hsu and
Pan, 2007; Misra and Dogra, 1980; Prabaharan and Mano, 2007; Zhang
et al., 2003).
Researchers and scientists have even reported various types of redox initi-
ators, e.g., metal carbonyls, Lewis acid, strong bases, etc., for chemically
induced grafting. Investigation of new redox systems and initiators is still
under research to develop the new polymers with the desired functional
properties. New redox systems are still under research to incorporate desir-
able properties into the backbone and hence to develop a polymer with more
specific functional properties (Ikhuoria et al., 2010; Vlcek et al., 2006;
Zahran and Mahmoud, 2003).

1.3.5 Grafting by Living Systems


1.3.5.1 Enzymatic Grafting
By the time enzymes have been discovered, they are acting as a versatile
means of catalyzing the reactions of various types due to their specificity
for the reactants, high efficiency, and quick rate of reactions. They have a
high potential in the area of polymer synthesis and modification approaches
due to several advantages, e.g., limiting the hazards due to the use of chem-
icals as initiators or catalysts in various modification approaches. Similar
property of specificity is observed in enzymes, which have significant appli-
cation in the field of modification of the polysaccharide structure to get the
highly efficient and specific copolymers (Kaur et al., 1998; Kumar et al.,
1999; Tizzotti et al., 2010; Yamada et al., 2000).
Chao et al. (2004) used the enzymatic method to introduce carboxyl groups
onto chitosan as a means to confer the ability to adsorb cationic dyes on
beads. The presence of new functional groups on the surface of beads
resulted in the increase of the surface polarity and the density of sorption
sites, thereby improving the sorption selectivity for the dye (Chao et al.,
2004).
A hydrophilic compound chlorogenic acid was grafted onto chitosan in the
presence of enzyme tyrosinase to attain the water solubility of chitosan
under basic conditions. Tyrosinase converts phenolic substrate into
8 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

Table 1.1 List of Different Types of Initiators Used for Grafting


Initiator Polymer Monomer References

Benzoyl peroxide Cellulose acetate Acrylic acid and acrylamide Abdelwahab et al. (2015)
Azobisizobutyronitrile Sodium alginate N,N dimethyl acrylamide Akin and Isiklan (2016)
Potassium per sulfate Acryloyl chloride Amino acid-based Alfaifi et al. (2014)
monomer
Potassium bromate/ Palm tree cellulose Acrylic acid Al-Hoqbani et al. (2014)
Thiourea dioxide
Potassium Poly(vinyl alcohol) Styrene Bai et al. (2009)
diperiodatocuprate (III)
Cerium(IV) ammonium Starch Acrylamide Bulut (2015)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Chitosan Polyacrylamide Bulut (2016)
nitrate
Stannous octoate Starch Poly-1-lactic acid Egri et al. (2016)
Cerium(IV) ammonium Chitosan Acrylic Acid Huacai et al. (2006)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Starch Acrylonitrile Ikhuoria et al. (2010)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Locust bean Acrylamide Kaity and Ghosh (2016)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Locust bean Acrylamide Kaity et al. (2013)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Hydroxyl ethyl starch N,N-dimethyl acrylamide Kolya and Tripathy (2013)
nitrate and Acryl amide
Ammonium nitrate (CAN) Amylopectin Acrylamide and N,N- Kolya and Tripathy (2014)
dimethylacrylamide
Cerium(IV) ammonium Xanthan gum Acrylamide Kumar et al. (2009)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Cellulose Glycidyl methacrylate Kumar et al. (2013)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Starch Methyl methacrylate Kumar et al. (2015)
nitrate
Horseradish peroxidase/ Starch Dimethyldiallylammonium Lv et al. (2014)
H2O2 chloride
Cerium(IV) ammonium Soya peptone Acrylamide Mahto et al. (2014)
nitrate
Ammonium persulfate Gum kondogogu Acrylamide Malik and Ahuja (2011)
Ammonium persulfate Carboxymethyl tamarind Acrylonitrile Meenkashi et al. (2014)
kernel
Benzoyl peroxide 5-fluorouracil Methacrylic acid Minhas et al. (2013)
Cerium(IV) ammonium Agar Acrylamide Mishra et al. (2011a,b)
nitrate
1. Introduction 9

Table 1.1 List of Different Types of Initiators Used for Grafting continued
Initiator Polymer Monomer References

Cerium(IV) ammonium Starch Acrylamide Mishra et al. (2011a,b)


nitrate
2,2-azobis[2-(2-imadazolin- Carboxymethylated guar N-vinylformamide Mishra et al. (2015)
2-yl) propane] gum
dihydrochloride
Potassium persulfate Dextrin Acrylamide Pal et al. (2010)
Ammonium Xanthan gum Aniline Pandey and Ramontja
peroxydisulfate (2016)
Potassium Guar gum N,N’-dimethylacrylamide Pandey et al. (2014a,b)
peroxymonosulfate
Potassium Gellan gum N,N-dimethylacrylamide Pandey et al. (2014b)
peroxymonosulfate
Chromic acid Potato starch Methacrylic acid Pathania and Sharma
(2012)
Ammonium persulfate Salep 3-(methacryloylamino) Pourjavadi et al. (2013)
(aps) propyl]
trimethylammonium
chloride
Cerium(IV) ammonium Inulin Acrylamide Rahul et al. (2014)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Agar Acrylamide Rani et al. (2012a,b)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Gum ghatti Acrylamide Rani et al. (2012a,b)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Sodium alginate Methyl methacrylate Rani et al. (2013)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Agave angustifolia Methyl methacrylate Rosli et al. (2015)
nitrate
Potassium persulfate Carboxymethyl cellulose 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl Salama et al. (2015)
methacrylate
Stannous 2-ethyl Starch Lactic Acid Salimi et al. (2014)
hexanoate
Ammonium persulfate Aegle marmelos gum Acrylamide Setia and Kumar (2014)
Potassium persulfate Chitosan Acrylic acid, acrylamide, Sharma et al. (2014)
and acrylonitrile
K2S2O8/Ascorbic acid Chitosan Methymethacrylate Singh et al. (2006a,b,c)
Ferrous ammonium sulfate- Cellulose Methylacrylate Thakur et al. (2013)
potassium persulfate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Gellan Acrylamide Vijan et al. (2012)
nitrate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Bamboo cellulose Methyl methaacrylate Wan et al. (2011)
nitrate

Continued
10 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

Table 1.1 List of Different Types of Initiators Used for Grafting continued
Initiator Polymer Monomer References

Potassium persulfate Starch Phenyl methacrylate Worzakowska and


Grochowicz (2015)
Cerium nitrate amine Starch Acrylic amide and the Xu et al. (2013)
methyl methacrylate
Cerium(IV) ammonium Alginate Poly(N- Xu et al. (2014)
nitrate isopropylacrylamide)
Cerium(IV) ammonium Chitin 2-hydroxy ethyl Yalinca et al. (2016)
nitrate methacrylate and 4-
vinylpyridine.
Azobisisobutyronitrile Lignin Acrylonitrile and N,N- Youe et al. (2016)
dimethyl formamide

O-quinone, which can undergo reaction with the amino group of chitosan to
form graft copolymer (Kumar et al., 1999).
Chitosan gets converted to its modified form in the presence of chlorogenic
acid (a natural product) as well as acidic medium. Enzymatic modification
can yield chitosan derivatives with unique pH-sensitive water solubility and
adhesive properties. The feasibility of using tyrosinase as a catalyst for
grafting hexyl oxy phenol and also Bombyx mori silk fibroin onto the chito-
san was investigated (Chen et al., 2000).
In order to confer the functional properties of chitosan, horseradish perox-
idase was also used as a catalyst in the grafting reaction. Using this
enzyme, grafting of the phenolic substrate dodecyl gallate onto the chito-
san was possible (Vachoud et al., 2001). Quinones are another category
that is being used to modify the chitosan, e.g., menadione, which is a
derivative of napthaquinone, contains similar physiological properties as
that of vitamin K, which is responsible for the reaction with chitosan and
introducing the increased surface hydrophobicity and the spectral features
of the modified chitosan (Muzzarelli and Muzzarelli, 2002). Another
example of modification of polysaccharide is by using the enzyme immo-
bilization technique. J. Darta and T. Jesionowski in 2014 developed an
adsorption immobilization technique to graft amino lipase onto a silica sur-
face using glutaraldehyde as an intermediate. The outcome of the research
was that the properties of the substrate were modified and now the product
can be utilized in a better way. Also, the amount of the enzyme that was
received after the reaction was much more than the amount introduced
initially (Jesionowski et al., 2014).
1. Introduction 11

Horseradish peroxidase in the presence of H2O2 initiated the graft copoly-


merization of starch and diallylammonium chloride (DMDAAC). The graft
copolymerization resulted in stronger hydrophobic areas and greater cationic
property. The grafted cationic starch had improvised sludge dewatering
properties when compared with ungrafted cationic starch, which may be
due to the increase in cationic degree as well as stronger hydrophobic areas
that reduced the resistance of filtration and capillary suction time to a signif-
icant effect and led to the formation of the porous structure in the sludge;
sludge water content was found to reduce up to 50.6% from 97.85%. The
research suggested the potential application in the development of highly
efficient sludge dewatering agents (Won et al., 2004). Biological properties
of these enzymatically altered polysaccharides are still an area of high inter-
est for researchers and have a real hope for revolutionary outcomes (Fujioka
et al., 2004).

1.3.5.2 Plasma-Initiated Grafting


Modification of the polysaccharides via plasma initiation approach is
receiving much attention due to day-by-day exploitation of the polysaccha-
rides. Plasma conditions attained through slow discharge offer about the
same possibilities as with ionizing radiation. The main processes involved
in plasma are dissociation, electron-induced excitation, and ionization, which
are responsible for graft modification. Subsequently, the electrons that were
accelerated from the plasma have adequate energy to induce cleavage of
the chemical bonds in the polymeric structure, which forms macromolecular
radicals to initiate the graft copolymerization (Bhattacharyaa and Misra, 2004;
Kaith et al., 2011; Zhang and Yao, 2016). Plasma-initiated polymerization of
grafting can be carried out by using polymerizing gases and precursors like
fluorocarbons, hydrocarbons, and silicone-containing monomers. Carrier gas
plays important roles in these plasmaesurface interactions, and usually inert
gas like helium or argon is used as carrier gases. For example, intelligent,
perceptive, and smart polymers play an important role in drug delivery since
they may dominate not only where a drug has to delivered, but also when and
with which interval it has to release (Soppimath et al., 2002).
The grafting of monomers containing vinyl functional groups, e.g., acrylic
acid and acrylamide, was performed on polyethylene, poly (ethylene
terephthalate), and polypropylene films. The films of polysaccharides are
exposed to the plasma only for 90 s and allow the further postpolymeriza-
tion to occur at room temperature. Finally, the grafted films of polyethylene,
which had modified properties of adsorption and desorption of the metal,
were synthesized (Bastos et al., 2009).
12 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

Two treatment types of plasma with polymers had been attempted by the
researchers in order to get the monofunctional surfaces on the polymer:
n plasma treatment via oxygen
n plasma treatment via charged particle bombardment leading to frag-
mentation of the polymer
However, plasma treated with these two approaches resulted with the lower
stability products having several functional groups, which are not desired
effects; hence these approaches were not carried further. Perhaps among
the successful techniques, one is decreasing the applied energy to the
maximum extent using low powered plasma and also reducing the density
of the particles damaged while under treatment by the plasma. One example
of plasma-initiated grafting is polypropylene, due to its simpler chemical
structure. Also, hydroxyl, carboxyl, and epoxy groups were selected as
the functional groups that are introduced by direct plasma treatment or by
grafting methods. Plasma grafting can be evaluated by electron spectros-
copy for chemical analysis and infrared spectroscopy methods, which
revealed that plasma-initiated grafting leads to homogeneous distribution
of participating functionalities and also a better retention of the precursor
structure (Kale and Desai, 2011).

1.3.6 Cationic Graft Copolymerization


Cationic grafting is another approach to attempt graft copolymerization by
living system. Living cationic polymerization involves various steps, i.e., initi-
ation of the chain reaction, followed by chain propagation, and finally leading
to chain termination and further continued with transfer of the chain. It allows
the synthesis of very well-defined polymers with lower molecular weight and
also of polymers with unusual architecture, such as star polymers and block
copolymers, making living cationic polymerization a tool of commercial
and academic interest. Common monomers that can be graft copolymerized
by the cationic method could be vinyl ethers, alpha-methyl vinyl ethers,
isobutene, styrene, methyl styrene, and N-vinyl carbazole, plus many more.
The basic characteristic required for a monomer is the nucleophilic nature,
and it should also have the potential to neutralize the carbocation charge on
the substituents (Matyjaszewski and Muller, 2009).
Cationic polymerization is nothing but a type of chain growth polymeriza-
tion involving a monomer that gets reactive due to the transfer of charge
from cationic initiator, which further acts as initiator for other monomers
and finally leads to formation of the monomer. Olefins, electron donating
groups, and heterocycles can specifically act as monomers in cationic graft
copolymerization. They have high sensitivity to the solvents in which the
1. Introduction 13

reaction proceeds and are the key component in the grafting, which
propagates the reaction according to its reactivity with the monomers
(Huang et al., 2007a,b). Living cationic polymerization is a type of living
polymerization technique that involves cationic propagating species. A
chemical equilibrium exists between the ionic species, which are propa-
gating actively, and the covalent species, which are dormant. Use of solvents
requires purification of the monomer as well as of the solvent. Cationic
polymerization has many applications, e.g., the production of polyisobuty-
lene, which is a constituent of inner tubes and poly(N-vinylcarbazole).
Polymeric grafted silica nanoparticles had been synthesized and initiated
by the cationic ring opening method of grafting, utilizing 2-methyl-1,2-
oxazoline and involving a solvent-free dry system. To prevent the environ-
ment pollution and also to simplify the process, the whole grafting process
had been scaled up and investigated about the outcomes (Ueda et al.,
2008). Cationic graft copolymerization of a cationic starch (sludge dewater-
ing agent) and dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (DMDAAC) using
horseradish peroxidase/H2O2 as an initiator was performed. Stronger hydro-
phobic regions and cationic groups producing a porous structure within the
sludge were observed after grafting, which are good characteristics of a
dewatering agent. Hence it may have significant potential in the develop-
ment of high-performance sludge dewatering agents (Oberstar and
Westman, 1977; Singh et al., 2006a,b,c).

1.3.7 Grafting by Radiation


Graft polymerization persuaded by radiation has the potential to introduce
numerous varieties of functions without the loss of the physical character-
istics of existing shape and configuration. It is excellent as a creation
technology of the high-functional materials. Description of the general
scheme of grafting by radiation is shown in Fig. 1.5.
Grafting by radiation involve two basic techniques:
n individual Radiation Technique
o preradiation
o peroxidation
n mutual Radiation technique

1.3.7.1 Individual Radiation Technique


In this technique, polymers are irradiated individually and after generation
of the free radical then exposed to the monomer.
Preradiation: free radicals are generated by irradiation of the backbone of
polymers in the state of vacuum or in the presence of the inert atmosphere.
14 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

n FIGURE 1.5 General scheme of grafting by radiation.

Peroxidation: irradiated polymer substrate was further treated with monomer


in the presence of some liquid or in a solution of a suitable solvent. During
treatment of monomer with the preradiated polymer substrate, high radiation
leading to the formation of peroxides or diperoxides depends on the type of
the polymer backbone or the type of reaction.

1.3.7.2 Mutual Radiation Technique


In this technique, polymers and monomers are irradiated simultaneously to
form the graft copolymer or to generate the free radicals and subsequent
formation of the graft copolymer (Burlant and Hoffmann, 1960; Kaur
et al., 1998; Wojnarovits et al., 2010; Zhou et al., 2015).

1.3.7.3 Advantages of Radiation Technique Over the


Chemical or Conventional Methods
n It is the most convenient method of graft copolymerization.
n Number and length of graft copolymer can be easily controlled.
n It maintains the purity of the product as it is free from product.
n Depending on the penetrating power of the radiation, interaction at
different depths of the backbone can be achieved.
n It helps in maintaining the molecular weight of the copolymer.

1.3.7.4 Types of Radiation-Induced Grafting


Photochemical Radiations: initiation of the free radicals is done using
photochemical radiations. Free radicals are formed when chromophore of
macromolecule absorbs light and it gets into excited state and forms an
1. Introduction 15

intermediate, which further gets dissociated into free radicals. Various types of
photoinitiators available are uranyl nitrate, hydrogen peroxide, benzoin ethyl
ether, and some ketone Benzoin derivatives, Benzil ketals, Acetophenone de-
rivatives, Hydroxyl alkylphenones, and Acylcro ximino ketones (Khan, 2004;
Kubota and Shigehisa, 1995; Shukla and Athalye, 1994). Copolymers of cel-
lulose had also been grafted on methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, and their deriv-
atives (Irwan et al., 2004; Kubota et al., 2001) using photochemical irradiation.
Gamma Radiations: High energy gamma radiations are very effective to
generate a free radical site on the backbone of the polymer especially for
flouropolymers as they are more stable. Gamma radiations are mainly
used commercially for graft copolymerization. The major disadvantage of
the gamma radiations is it causes unpredictable changes to the backbone
of the polymer. Gamma radiations had been used by Teena sehgal and sunita
rattan in graft copolymerization of the Isotactic polypropylene films on N-
vinyl-2-pyrrolidine using cobalt 60 as the source of gamma radiations.
The grafted films were characterized using fourier transform infrared spec-
troscopy (FTIR), atomic-force microscopy and SEM studies. The optimized
batch was evaluated for swelling studies and pH sensitivity and concluded
that the graft copolymer had better swelling behavior and pH sensitivity
and can be used in the controlled drug delivery system (Sehgal and Rattan,
2010). An attempt was made by Singh et al. to prepare gamma radiation-
induced graft copolymerization of poly vinyl pyrrolidine on sterculia gum
and also further formulation of biocompatible, mucoadhesive hydrogels us-
ing this graft copolymer. Effect of gamma radiation on swelling behavior
and other parameters related to the swelling behavior, e.g., polymer fraction
in the swollen state (f), molecular weight of the polymer chain between two
neighboring cross-links (Mc), cross-link density (r), and mesh size (x),
were studied. Characterization of the hydrogels was done using FTIR,
SEM, X ray diffraction, TGA, and swelling studies. It was found that with
the increase in the dose of the radiation the cross-link density and gel
strength was found to increase, whereas swelling and mesh size were found
to decrease with increasing dose of gamma radiations. It was conferred that
the optimized batch of the hydrogels had mucoadhesive nature and have the
potential to deliver the drug in a controlled manner in the gastrointestinal
tract (GIT) due to its mucoadhesive nature (Singh et al., 2014a,b,c). A binary
mixture of methacrylic acid and 4-vinyl pyridine was grafted on a poly vinyl
fluoride film using preradiation technique with gamma radiations. Maximum
percentage grafting of 77.50% was obtained by irradiating the film by swift
heavy ions, silicon, and carbon. Characterization of the copolymer was done
with FTIR, TGA, swelling ratio, and ion and metal uptake studies (Kaur
et al., 2013). Graft copolymerization of the rayon fiber was done on the
16 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

acrylic acid using mutual radiation technique, i.e., by using Ce(4þ)-HNO3 as


redox initiator (chemical method) and gamma radiations (mutual radiation).
Results obtained with both the chemical method as well as the radiation
method were compared. The copolymer obtained by both the methods
were characterized for FTIR, TGA, SEM, swelling behavior, thermal
behavior, dye intake capacity, etc. After comparing the results of both the
methods, it was revealed that the graft made by the radiation method was bet-
ter than one grafted by the chemical method (Kaur et al., 2010). Gamma
radiation-induced graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate onto jute
fibers was carried out by the preirradiation method in an aqueous medium
using octyl phenoxy poly ethoxy ethanol as an emulsifier. Graft copolymer-
ization of poly (vinyl alcohol) and polymer blend of zein (a natural protein)
was carried with acrylic acid on exposure to gamma radiation. The study also
evaluated the effect of gamma radiation on the compatibility of a polymer
blend. The copolymer was structurally and morphologically evaluated by
FTIR and SEM. The polymer blend had a multilayered structure before
grafting, which was further converted into matrix when irradiated with
gamma radiation (Senna et al., 2010). Gamma radiations have been utilized
for synthesis of hydrogels of psyllium and acrylic acid, which found appli-
cations in sustained delivery of copper sulfate, used as a fungicide in agricul-
tural fields (Kumar and Kaith, 2010).
UV radiations: UV radiations have also been used for induction of the free
radical sites on polymer backbone for graft copolymerization. Graft copoly-
merization using UV radiation is usually possible using photo initiators, e.g.,
benzophenone. UV radiations do not produce copolymers with uniform
grafting and also with low grafting efficiency, which may be attributed
due to the low penetration ability of UV radiations. These disadvantages
of UV radiations limit their use in grafting (Bardajee et al., 2011a,b). Poly-
ether sulfone ultrafiltration membrane using vinyl sulfonic acid as functional
monomer was graft copolymerized on N,N0 -methylenbisacrylamide using
UV photo radiation. The gravimetric method and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy
were used to evaluate the effect of the polymerization conditions on the de-
gree of grafting (Bernstein et al., 2012). Bardajee et al. in 2011 synthesized
highly swellable nanoporous hydrogels by grafting acrylic acid on a salep
backbone using UV photo radiation. Formulation of the hydrogel was
conferred by FTIR and TGA, and morphology was confirmed with SEM.
It was revealed from the results that nanoporous hydrogels has potential
application in colonic drug delivery, as it can successfully deliver the drug
in the colon without losing the drug in the stomach (Bardajee et al., 2011a,b).
Microwave Radiations: microwave radiations have been revealed as an
effectual source for graft copolymerization. It is the most favorable source
1. Introduction 17

for generation of free radicals with or without use of initiator. It has resulted
in greater control over the grafting efficiency as microwave radiations can
easily be controlled by controlling exposure time and strength of the radia-
tion by controlling power. Microwave radiations can quickly transfer the
energy into the major proportion of the reacting mixture or the suspension,
which lead to rapid exposure of the reactants in the reaction vessel. With
polysaccharides, mainly three types of microwave-grafting reactions have
been attempted by scientists: (1) homogeneous solutions with aqueous
media in which all the reactants are completely soluble and no observed
phase separation occurs. Aqueous phase is used as a solvent usually, as
most of the polysaccharides have been found to be soluble in water. It is
the polar nature of the water that absorbs microwaves and convert them to
heat energy significantly. (2) The second type of of microwave-grafting
reaction is heterogeneous suspension, in which all components of the reac-
tion mixture are not fully miscible rather suspended in the mixture. (3) In the
third type of microwave grafting, mixture reactants are in the solid phase.
Polymers, monomers, and initiators are combined together on a solid support
that is nonreactive with all the components of the reaction mixture (Rani
et al., 2012a,b).
The major and most important advantages of microwave-irradiated graft
copolymerization are reduction in time of reaction, least consumption of
the toxic chemicals during grafting, commendable grafting efficiency,
and the formation of selective and clean products. The reasons due to
which these advantages are observed could be that electromagnetic
radiations of 300 MHz to 300 GHz frequency are generated during
microwave irradiation, which is directly and immediately exposed to
bulk mixture. The exposure of these electromagnetic reactions selectively
excites the polar bonds present in the reactants, leading to the breakage or
cleavage of them, which in turn produces the free radicals on the
backbone of the polymer. However, the bonds in the CeC sequence
remain unaltered due to their nonpolar nature, which confirms the product
selective nature of the microwave radiations (Chapiro, 1962; Deshayes
et al., 1999; Singh et al., 2006a,b,c, 2012). Formulation methodology
of the grafting of polymers using microwave has been illustrated in
Fig. 1.6.
Microwave-irradiated grafting is mainly of three types:
n Microwave-initiated grafting: in this type of microwave, radiations are
responsible for initiation of the reaction, and no initiator is required for
formation of free radicals. It is not even an ecofriendly approach of
grafting; rather, it results in too much control and higher
18 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

n FIGURE 1.6 Formulation methodology of grafting of polymers using microwave.

reproducibility of percentage grafting in the grafted copolymer (Singh


et al., 2012).
n Microwave-assisted grafting: in this type of grafting, along with micro-
wave irradiations, radicals are produced in the presence of external
redox initiators, which play a vital role in the conversion of microwave
energy into heat energy, which in turn is responsible for free radical
generation and also for successful occurrence of the graft copolymeri-
zation. The initiators or catalysts that are mainly used are persulfate
and ceric salts. The major advantage of the initiator is that the initial
radical is very efficient and quick under the effect of microwave, and
the grafting efficiency is also found to be improvised to a certain
extent (Singh et al., 2012).
n Microwave grafting using solid media: as discussed above, this type of
grafting occurs with use of solid media in presence of microwave radi-
ations done by impregnating reactants over the solid supports. Reac-
tants are preadsorbed on the microwave supporting transparent
materials, e.g., silica and aluminum, or it can be clay or may be
absorbed on the inorganic support following the doping by the cata-
lyst. These types of reactions are attracting interest of the researchers
as it involves usage of domestic microwave ovens, which make the
grafting a highly affordable, safe, efficient, and clean technology that
1. Introduction 19

is very simple to utilized. The graft copolymerization of acrylamide on


chitosan, xanthan gum, guar gum, Artemisia seeds, locust been gum,
carboxymethylstarch, etc. has already been performed with successful
results of high grafting efficiency. Grafting of acrylamide on chitosan
has been compared by both the methods, i.e., conventional as well as
microwave assisted, and grafting efficiency by microwave irradiation
was found to be eight times more than the conventional heating (Rani
et al., 2012a,b). The general scheme of graft copolymerization using
free radical mechanism has been shown in Fig. 1.7.
Grafting of polyacrylic acid on Artemisia seeds (Zhang et al., 2007), chito-
san (Huacai et al., 2006), polyacrylonitrile on tamarind seeds (meenakshi),
cassia siamea (Singh and Tripathi, 2006), hydroxyl methyl acrylate onto
wool fibers (Daneault et al., 1988; Xu et al., 1996), methyl methacrylate
onto flax fibers (Kaith and Kalia, 2008a,b), and Xyloglucan obtained from
Tamarind seed mucilage (Goyal et al., 2008; Mishra and Malhotra, 2012;

n FIGURE 1.7 General scheme of graft copolymerization using free radical mechanism.
20 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

Mishra et al., 2012; Pal et al., 2008; Wan et al., 2011), has already been
reported in literature.

1.4 Applications
1.4.1 Drug Delivery System
The design of drug delivery systems has intensively exploited the use of
polysaccharides. The use of polysaccharides in the field of drug delivery
has certain limitations in spite of being biodegradable, biocompatible,
nontoxic behavior with low cost, ready availability, and high regulatory
acceptance attribute and easily metabolized by the microflora present in
the colon into their respective monomers. Polysaccharides have extensive
applications in various fields as binding, disintegrating, thickening, floccu-
lating, and stabilizing agents in oral dosage form and also in transdermal
form. Apart from these advantages and applications, polysaccharides have
certain limitations also as described in Section 1, which has created a way
of modification of the polysaccharides by using various methods, e.g.,
carboxymethylation, side chain grafting, cyanoethylation, chemical cross-
linking, and graft copolymerization using various sources with and without
initiators and many other processes. Graft copolymers are more advanta-
geous compared to the raw polysaccharide as they can be easily tailored
to the requirements for particular applications, e.g., controlled drug delivery
systems. In this section, we have focused on the applications of modified
polysaccharides or graft copolymers using the graft copolymerization
approach with the help of microwave irradiation.

1.4.2 Controlled Drug Delivery


The major challenge in the area of drug delivery is to at least maintain the
concentration of the drug between minimum effective concentration and
maximum safe concentration of a drug in the intended tissue or organ or,
in other words, to maintain the concentration of the drug within the thera-
peutic index. Controlled drug delivery is characterized by releasing the drug
in the specified period of time in predetermined rate. Biodegradable poly-
mers have already been used for controlled release, but major problems
associated with the polysaccharides (discussed earlier) paved the way for
grafted copolymers in this area due to environmental friendly qualities of
polymers and stable and site-specific properties due to synthetic polymers
present in them (Brown et al., 1974; Evans et al., 1988; Friend, 1991;
Meldrum et al., 1972; Wilson and Washington, 1989).
Controlled release application of acrylamide grafted moth bean starch and
sago starch was evaluated by Singh and Nath in 2012 and 2013, respectively,
1. Introduction 21

using lamivudine as the model drug. Acute toxicity and drug compatibility
studies of the copolymer were investigated. Kinetic studies of the formula-
tion of both the copolymers exhibited highest correlation (R) value and
selected Higuchi model for the release mechanism study suggested that
the formulation exhibited a combination of diffusion and erosion-based
release process. Significant differences in the various pharmacokinetic
parameters (Tmax, Cmax, AUC, Vd, t1/2 and MDT) of the optimized formu-
lation were found compared to the marketed conventional tablet Lamivir,
and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies of sago starch-g-polyacrylamide were
also performed on rabbits and conferred the IVIVC correlation as a
controlled release tablets of graft copolymers (Singh and Nath, 2012,
2013). Similarly, sustained release tablets of polyacrylamide grafted Aegle
marmelos gum and xanthan gum were also attempted recently by Setia
et al. and Kumar et al. Sustained release tablets of model water-insoluble
drug diclofenac sodium were formulated using the grafted xanthan gum
and aegle marmelos gum (AMG) as a rate-controlling polymer. Xanthan
gum was able to sustain the drug release over a period of 12 h, the release
kinetics followed the Higuchi model, and the mechanism was governed
by Fickian diffusion, whereas AMG matrix tablets were successful in con-
trolling the release of the drug up to 24 h, exhibiting zero order kinetics
with n value greater than 1, suggesting that the mechanism for drug release
as super case II transport, i.e., rate of release of the drug completely domi-
nated by swelling and erosion of the copolymer. Microwave-assisted graft
copolymerization using ceric ammonium nitrate and ammonium per sulfate
as initiators was successful and the method was concluded to be an easy and
efficient time saver that was easy to reproduce. The single pot synthesis
method to develop the graft copolymers can be further exploited and used
for formulation of the sustained-release drug delivery system (Kumar
et al., 2009; Setia and Kumar, 2014).
Controlled release tablets of graft copolymer of psyllium and methacrylic
acid, which were synthesized using the microwave-assisted method with sil-
ver sulfate as an initiator, were also prepared by R. Kumar and K. Sharma
(2013). The swelling studies, in vitro controlled drug release in different pH
solutions, and the biodegradability studies were performed. It was found that
swelling of Psy-g-PMA was higher than that of the corresponding psyllium,
and drug release in the acidic pH (pH ¼ 4) was 85.67% in the first 3 h,
whereas it was only 82.04% up to 11 h in basic medium. It was also
concluded that the tablets can be used to control the release in GIT based
on pH environments. Also, the graft copolymer due to high superabsorbent
capacity can be used in diapers and feminine sanitary pads. On the same lieu,
Sen and Pal in 2009 and Sen et al. in 2010 investigated the controlled release
22 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

behavior of 5-amino salicylic acid from matrix tablets prepared by


microwave-initiated synthesized polyacrylamide grafted guar gum and
carboxymethyl starch. The controlled release matrix tablets prepared were
simple, ecofriendly, worthy for commercial production, and had greater
control and higher reproducibility of percentage grafting in the finally
optimized batch. The percentage grafting was directly proportional to the
time of exposure to microwave irradiation. The matrix tablets formulated
were further characterized by USP drug dissolution apparatus (paddle
method) in different pH solutions, and it was conferred that percentage
grafting was found to increase the release of drug was more sustained and
also release rate was much lesser at low pH, i.e., acidic environment with
the matrix tablets of both the grafted polymers. Finally, it was concluded
that the acrylamide grafted guar gum and carboxymethyl starch have the po-
tential to act as a controlled release carrier and can be used for pH triggered
release for colon targeted drug delivery (Sen et al., 2009, 2010). In 2015,
methacrylamide-grafted gellan gum copolymer was synthesized and investi-
gated for controlled release behavior by formulating matrix tablets of
diclofenac sodium (Nandi et al., 2015), and it was concluded that tablets
prepared from copolymer were able to sustain the drug up to 8 h.
Apart from the controlled release tablets the graft copolymer has also been used
in the formulation of hydrogels (Mohd-Amin et al., 2014), which can be used as
oral controlled release drug delivery carriers. The bacterial cellulose-g-poly
(acrylic acid coacrylamide) {(BC-g-poly(AA-co-AM))} hydrogels and stercu-
lia gum were successfully synthesized using a microwave-irradiation tech-
nique with BC dissolved in an aqueous NaOH/urea solvent system. The
hydrogels demonstrated a pH-responsive swelling behavior, with decreased
swelling in acidic media, which increased with an increase in pH of the media,
reaching maximum swelling at pH 7. Also, the hydrogels showed lesser release
in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) than in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF), sug-
gesting that hydrogels may be suitable drug carriers for oral controlled release
of drug delivery in the lower gastrointestinal tract.
Novel and site-specific curcumin microparticles and nanoparticles were also
prepared via graft copolymerization technique. Primarily amphiphilic copol-
ymer poly (D,L-lactide)-graft-pullulan (PL) in a monomode microwave reactor
was synthesized (Xiao-Jiao et al., 2014). The effects of microwave power, the
ratio of catalyst/lactide, the ratio of the lactide/hydroxyl group of pollen (lac-
tide/OHeP), and solvent on the synthesis were further investigated. Three
samples (designated as PL 8, 9, and 6), characterized by FTIR and NMR,
were applied to form nanoparticles and microparticles investigated by
dynamic light scattering, fluorescence spectroscopy, and transmission electron
microscopy. PL9 and PL6 were used for loading model drug curcumin. The
1. Introduction 23

results indicated that microwave-assisted synthesis shortened the copolymeri-


zation of PL, with higher yield and lactide conversion, from 24 h to 5 min and
showed some specific microwave effects compared with conventional oil heat-
ing. PL with a relatively higher substitution degree gave nanoparticles with
smaller sizes and critical aggregation concentrations. The solubility of curcu-
min in water was increased up to 1.97 mg/mL as the forms of nanoparticles,
which were previously negligible (Mohanty and Sahoo, 2010). Further inves-
tigations, e.g., thermostimuli drug release and liver target, are still under
progress.
Drug troche of Rosin-(2-acryloyloxy) ethyl ester (RAEE) and RAEE graft
copolymerized on chitosan (CTS) with fenoprofen calcium (FC) as an
investigating drug were prepared. SEM images of the CTS and of Cts-g-
PRAEE showed the significant difference in the morphological characters.
The graft copolymer of chitosan was able to sustain the release of the FC
determined by dialysis method in the intestinal juice compared to chitosan
alone. This confirmed the controlled release behavior of the FC from the of
Cts-g-PRAEE copolymer (Wengui et al., 2008).

1.4.3 Enhanced Drug Delivery


Many dosage forms are designed to release the drug immediately or at least
as quickly as possible after administration. This is useful if a faster onset of
action is required for therapeutic reasons. For example, a tablet containing a
painkiller should disintegrate quickly in the gastrointestinal tract to allow a
fast uptake into the body. However, onset of action is very fast in intrave-
nous injections and infusions, and the pharmacological effect may be seen
within seconds after administration. The reason for this instant pharmaco-
logical effect could be first that the drug is already in solution, so the
drug need not be released from the dosage form. Secondly, the drug is being
directly administered inside the body, so there is no loss of time, which is
usually taken by the drug due to drug permeation through the skin or before
the drug reaches the target organs. But in oral solutions the drug is also
already released, and the solution will have to first mix with the gastrointes-
tinal fluids. When powders and granules are taken as oral dosage form, they
need to be dissolved first before the drug is released by dissolution. How-
ever, when tablets are concerned, it is necessary for the tablet to get disinte-
grated, then followed by mixing and dissolution, and then showing the
pharmacological effect after getting permeated if the drug is lipophilic. In
order for capsules to release their drug content the major necessity is for
the capsule shell material (e.g., gelatin or hydroxyl propyl methylcellulose
(HPMC)) first to disintegrate. After that the drug can either dissolve from
the usually solid powders or granules, in the case of hard gelatin or
24 CHAPTER 1 Applications of Graft Copolymerization: A Revolutionary Approach

HPMC capsules, or it can be dispersed from the usually liquid, lipophilic


content of a soft gelatin capsule. Immediate-release dosage forms discussed
here have an onset of action in the order of minutes to hours. Challenge for
the enhancement of drug delivery is to enhance the release of drug from
water-insoluble drugs. Extensive efforts have been undertaken for the
development of products containing a combination of natural as well as syn-
thetic and to derive an array of significantly efficient analog candidates of
grafted copolymer, which can enhance the release of the drug, especially
drugs that are water insoluble (Dahan and Hoffman, 2006).
Microwave-assisted grafting was used as a tool for enhancement of the drug
delivery by developing hydrogels of grafted sterculia gum, 2-
hydroxyethylmethacrylate. The release of the drug from the hydrogel matrix
occurred through non-Fickian diffusion mechanism. Rate of release of the
drug from the hydrogel matrix was higher at the initial stage compared to
the later stage, where release of the drug occurred in a sustained manner.
When the values of the diffusion coefficients were compared, it was
much more for the initial stage compared to the later stages. It suggested
that after a certain concentration has been attained, the release of the drug
from the hydrogel matrix occurred in a controlled manner. It was further
accomplished that hydrogels developed from the modification of sterculia
gum have the potential to act as controlled drug delivery devices and can
also be used for targeted drug delivery by altering some other monomers
(Singh and Vashishtha, 2008).
Kumar et al. examined graft copolymerization, employing conventional as
well as microwave-assisted methods on xanthan gum. The results revealed
that grafting efficiency was higher with microwave-assisted grafting
compared to the conventional method; also, grafting efficiency was directly
proportional to microwave exposure time and power. The copolymer thus
synthesized using the microwave-assisted method was further investigated
for kinetic release studies. The researchers in their succeeded study
compared the release rate of the grafted and ungrafted xanthan gum matrix
tablets of diclofenac sodium. The release rate of the grafted matrix tablets
was faster when compared with the ungrafted xanthan gum tablets, and
as the % grafting was increasing the release rate and erosion were also
increasing, whereas swelling of the Xanthan-g-polyacrylamide was
decreasing. The kinetic modeling study exhibited that release of the drug
from matrix tablets fit best into zero order kinetics (Kumar et al., 2009).
Release and kinetic modeling studies were also performed by Malik et al. in
2012 to investigate the release behavior of the diclofenac sodium (model
drug) from the matrix tablets of grafted and ungrafted gum kondagogu
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Qui rit, qui parle seul, qui joue, et qui soudain
Semble pris pour ses jeux d’un immense dédain,
Et rêve, dédaignant l’image ou la praline,
Dans le plus sombre coin de la vieille berline ;
Qui montrait tout à l’heure un golfe avec son doigt
En demandant : « Quel est ce gros saphir qu’on voit ? »
Ce garçonnet ravi d’abîmer son costume,
C’est Celui qui mettra son siècle sur l’enclume,
Qui pendant si longtemps sera terrible et seul,
Et qui pratiquera si bien l’Art d’être Aïeul
Que, pâles apprentis sortant tous de ses forges,
Les poètes seront ses innombrables Georges !

Quoi ! cet enfant, c’est lui par qui nous apprenons


Que tous ces voyageurs croyaient avoir des noms,
Et c’est lui l’éternel parmi ces éphémères !
Quoi ! c’est le grand Hugo, ce petit Victor !

Mères,
Qu’il y ait du respect parfois dans la douceur
Du baiser mis au front de votre enfant rêveur ;
Que vos lèvres, parfois en écartant des boucles,
Aient peur de se brûler à quelques escarboucles ;
Frissonnez au milieu d’un rire ; effrayez-vous
De prendre l’avenir, ainsi, sur vos genoux :
Et dites-vous, avec une ivresse inquiète,
Lorsque vous saisissez une petite tête
Pour essayer de voir au fond des yeux gamins,
Que vous tenez peut-être un monde entre vos mains !
— Sait-on à quel moment au juste le dieu passe ?
Songez à la minute émouvante de grâce
Où, dans la vieille rue, au son d’un fandango
Que rythme un claquement de fouet, Madame Hugo
Sort du carrosse vert dont l’attelage souffle,
Et, prenant dans ses bras l’enfant qu’elle emmitoufle,
Distraite, d’une voix qui sommeille à demi,
Lui dit légèrement : « Tu vois, c’est Hernani. »
Aucun éclair n’a lui dans la ruelle noire ;
Nul n’a senti tomber cette graine de gloire ;
Et lui-même l’enfant n’est pas resté songeur.
On se bouscule, on crie, on jure ; un voyageur
Chante… Et le germe obscur descend au fond de l’âme,
« C’est Hernani, tu vois », a murmuré Madame
La générale Hugo, d’une distraite voix.
Et l’enfant regardait. « C’est Hernani, tu vois »,
Dit cette mère. Et tout, pendant cette minute,
Tout, Don Ruy, Don Carlos, le grand vers dont la flûte
Soupire, le bandit, l’amour, le collier d’or,
La bataille de mil huit cent trente, le cor,
Mademoiselle Mars, la salle qui trépide,
Tout, le lion superbe et le vieillard stupide,
Oui, tout fut, au-dessus de ce village fier,
Pendant cette minute, en puissance, dans l’air !
Cette minute-là fut grosse du chef-d’œuvre.
— Et, faisant de son fouet zigzaguer la couleuvre,
Un jeune postillon, sur un seuil, étalait
Le rouge fatidique et vif de son gilet.

Le Rêve, dans l’esprit des grands amants du Verbe,


Abonde avec amour autour d’un nom superbe ;
Il suspend, en secret, son cristal doux et lent
Au nom qui s’alourdit d’un poids étincelant ;
Et quand, plus tard, cherchant dans cette ombre où tout reste
Hugo retirera de son cœur, d’un seul geste,
Le nom qui s’y enfonce en tremblant aujourd’hui,
Ce nom ramènera tout un drame avec lui !

VII

… Mais la nuit m’a surpris près d’un portail de pierre…


Alors je me souviens qu’il aimait la prière ;
Qu’il a divinement murmuré : « Va prier… »
Je songe que le soir du vingt-six Février,
Hernani, ton église est bien selon mon âme,
Puisque je ne peux pas aller à Notre-Dame !

Et je laisse la vieille en noir qui tient les clés


M’ouvrir.

Saint-Sébastien a les cheveux bouclés ;


Le large autel doré luit de toutes ses forces ;
Et l’on voit des raisins sur les colonnes torses.
Cette église serait sûrement de son goût.

Et comme dans son œuvre énorme on trouve tout,


J’y prends quelques beaux vers comme on choisit des cierges,
Et je les fais brûler doucement. Et les Vierges
— Fronts de cire entrevus à travers des carreaux —
Sont celles justement qu’invoquent ses héros ;
Et je t’ai demandé, Petit Roi de Galice,
Comment il faut prier pour que Dieu s’attendrisse !

Et je sors tout ému sous le ciel toujours beau.


Et je marche en disant : « Maître, Génie, Hugo…
Souris, Père d’un siècle, aux humbles fils d’une heure !
Que quelque chose, en nous, de ce grand jour, demeure !
Donne-nous le courage et donne-nous la foi
Qu’il nous faut pour oser travailler après toi… »
Et les mots se pressaient sans ordre sur ma lèvre,
Car depuis le matin je cultivais ma fièvre.
« … Fais que nous nous levions la nuit pour travailler,
Que nous ne dormions plus à cause du laurier,
Et détache ta main, un instant, de ta tempe,
Pour bénir notre front, notre cœur, notre lampe… »
Des paysans passaient. — « Persuade-nous bien
Que le travail est tout, que nous ne sommes rien… »
Un chant montait, de ceux que plusieurs voix reprennent.
« … et dis-nous de chanter pour que tous nous comprennent. »
Ainsi parlait la voix de mon âme à genoux.
Le soir d’Espagne était merveilleusement doux,
Mais il fallait partir, car l’ombre enveloppante
Venait ; je reprenais la vieille rue en pente
Qui serre tellement le ciel entre ses toits
Que l’on ne voit jamais qu’une étoile à la fois.
Je murmurais : « Faut-il qu’un pareil jour s’achève ? »
Je sortais de Hugo comme l’on sort d’un rêve :
Et j’ai redescendu la rue ; et lorsque j’ai
Passé sous le dernier balcon de fer forgé,
Un homme, d’une voix orgueilleuse et bourrue,
M’a dit : « Señor, c’est là — dans cette vieille rue —
Que naquit Urbieta, le brave à qui le Roi
François Premier rendit son épée ! » Alors, moi,
J’ai dit : « C’est là qu’est né — dans cette rue ancienne —
Le drame auquel le Cid pourrait rendre la sienne. »

Hernani, 26 février 1902.


XXIII
LE BOIS SACRÉ

L’ombre de trois cyprès sur le gazon progresse.


Et tandis qu’au lointain s’argente un ciel de Grèce,
Près d’une eau qui s’égoutte en creusant des viviers,
Les dieux se sont assis dans un bois d’oliviers.

C’est le dernier des bois sacrés.

La mer tranquille
S’allonge au fond, plus blanche autour d’une presqu’île ;
Et l’on voit, dès qu’ils sont rebroussés d’un peu d’air,
Les glauques oliviers blanchir comme la mer.
De hauts lauriers pensifs, splendidement moroses,
Près de lauriers moins hauts qui s’ajoutent des roses
Contractent leur feuillage avec un noir dédain,
Et les dieux sont assis comme dans un jardin.
Ils sont là, familiers, harmonieux, paisibles,
Ne faisant même pas l’effort d’être invisibles.
Junon, reconnaissable au beau pli de son cou
Autant qu’au sceptre d’or que surmonte un coucou ;
Vénus, qui, semble-t-il, ainsi qu’une statue,
Fut d’un linge mouillé par un sculpteur vêtue ;
Mars, dieu de la bataille ; Apollon, dieu du jour,
Dont l’arc a l’air plus grand que celui de l’Amour ;
Jupiter, dont ce soir le sourcil se défronce,
Et qui laisse, pour prendre une mûre à la ronce,
La foudre qu’il brûla jadis par les deux bouts ;
Minerve, aux yeux plus fiers que les yeux des hiboux
Sous les deux autres yeux vides et sans paupière
Qu’elle a levés au ciel en levant sa visière ;
Diane, dont la sauge aime le brodequin
Et qui porte un étroit diadème ; Vulcain,
Qui, faisant des projets d’art et de mécanique,
Gratte son front têtu sous son bonnet conique ;
Et Mercure, qui sent jusque dans son cerveau
Battre les ailerons qu’il a sur son chapeau,
Tous les grands dieux sont là, tous, excepté Neptune,
Et Vesta, que toujours tout plaisir importune,
Et Cérès, qui s’occupe aux épis blondissants ;
Mais trois dieux plus petits remplacent les absents :
Pan, qui n’est jamais loin dans un bois d’Arcadie,
Du rêve des roseaux forme une mélodie ;
Le nectar qui circule est versé par Hébé ;
Et Cupidon se livre à des jeux de bébé
Qui sont peu rassurants pour Junon la jalouse…
De sorte que les dieux, tout de même, sont douze.

Et les Olympiens dans ce bois sont venus


Pour sentir de la mousse, un peu, sous leurs pieds nus,
— Immortels étonnés d’être vivants encore ! —
Et pour danser un pas réglé par Terpsichore.
Ils se lèvent, joyeux. Mercure fait le guet.
Les attributs trop lourds vont joncher le muguet ;
Mars change vivement un arbre en panoplie,
Et comme Phidias, dans l’ombre, la supplie
De soigner la Victoire aux précieux contours
Que dans sa paume droite il plaça pour toujours,
Pallas met à l’abri d’un arceau d’églantine
L’Image minuscule et chryséléphantine.

Et tous dansent, déjà, se prenant par les mains,


Quand celui qui toujours veille sur les chemins,
Puisqu’il a pour autels les bornes milliaires,
Désigne, au loin, du bout de son thyrse, où les lierres,
Vivants, sont un aspic entouré d’un aspic,
La route qui, longeant le promontoire à pic,
Noue une nonchalante et blanche bandelette
Entre la mer et la bruyère violette,
Et, sur cette blancheur, un bondissant point noir.

Tout le groupe divin se penche pour mieux voir,


Regarde…

Et c’est le rire, alors, dont parle Homère.

Chaque dieu, sauf l’Amour, qui rit comme sa mère,


A son rire. En voyant approcher ce qui vient,
Jupiter, secoué du rire jovien,
Montre ses belles dents jusqu’au fond de sa gorge ;
Mars rit comme un combat ; Vulcain, comme une forge ;
Mercure a ces gaîtés de filou levantin
Qu’il a dans sa statue au Pio-Clémentin ;
Le rire inattendu de Pan est tout en perles,
Car les buissons barbus cachent des nids de merles ;
Le rire d’Apollon est du soleil chanté ;
Diane rit un rire émouvant de santé ;
Vénus, un rire doux qui peu à peu s’énerve ;
Et Junon rit du bout des lèvres ; et Minerve
Garde un visage grave et rit du fond des yeux.

Ah ! c’est en vain qu’un bois, pour abriter les dieux,


Veut contre le réel être un beau coin qui boude,
Quand la route en passant lui donne un coup de coude !
« Fuyez ! » murmure aux dieux tout le bois s’attristant.
Mais les dieux veulent rire encore ; en un instant,
Chacun attrape ce qu’il peut : Hébé, l’espiègle,
Les coupes d’or ; Junon, le paon ; Jupiter, l’aigle ;
Mercure, sa tortue ; Apollon, son lézard ;
Et, vite, dans le bois, en riant au hasard,
Tous ils vont se cacher !

Et le grand paysage
Bleuit.

C’est maintenant l’heure à double visage


Où, tandis qu’elle monte et qu’il n’est pas tombé,
On voit au ciel ensemble et Phébus et Phébé,
De même que ce soir on les voit sous ces arbres.
Les dieux ne bougent plus. L’ombre est pleine de marbres.
Le bois semble peuplé de Termes et d’Échos.
Et soudain, par les bleus silences amicaux,
Comme si, pour troubler ce Puvis de Chavannes,
Tous les fleuves du bruit avaient brisé leurs vannes,
Ce qui fonce, à travers le mystère écharpé,
C’est une trente-cinq quarante-cinq HP,
Le double phaéton à portes latérales ;
C’est, faisant sangloter les âmes vespérales
Et trembler tous les fils dans les doigts de Clotho,
Avec tout ce qu’il faut pour écraser, l’Auto !
Quatre cylindres ; châssis long ; première marque ;
L’air d’un rhinocéros qui serait une barque,
Et qui, plus précédé par ses yeux qu’un homard,
Allongerait un groin subitement camard !
C’est la machine énorme et poudreuse, — l’Ogresse
Blanche d’avoir mangé ces blancs chemins de Grèce
Que le soleil pieux s’obstine à tenir secs
Parce qu’il ne faut pas que sur les chemins grecs
La poudre des héros devienne de la fange ;
Et quand ce monstre, avec ses gros pneus de rechange
Qu’il porte dans son dos comme un soldat son sac,
Passe, et bondit déjà pour disparaître… crac !
On ne sait quoi l’arrête. Une sorte de bête
Se penche sur son cou pour voir ce qui l’arrête :
Est-ce au carburateur ? au différentiel ?
Qu’importe ! Dans ce bois tout transpercé de ciel
Où l’ægipan, naguère, aimait son ægipane,
On n’en peut plus douter maintenant : c’est la panne.
Un bras levé dessine un juron furieux.
Dans deux obscurs paquets luisent d’énormes yeux.
Pallas croit reconnaître en ces croquemitaines
Les chouettes qu’elle impose aux médailles d’Athènes.
L’un d’eux, sur le volant posant un court moignon,
A l’air d’être un crapaud qui tient un champignon.

Et le rire des dieux redouble.

Et quand ces choses


Deviennent, descendant parmi les lauriers-roses,
Deux ballots de fourrure, et qui veulent marcher,
Le rire est tel, du grand jusqu’au petit Archer,
Que les branches croient voir, dans la clarté plus rare,
Se tordre du Paros et pouffer du Carrare.
Ils regardent venir, les superbes dieux nus,
Ces loups exorbitants, ces chacals saugrenus,
Qui collent sur leur face avec une élastique
Des masques ignorés par le Théâtre Antique ;
Et les deux êtres vont, suivis à chaque pas
Par ce rire des dieux que nous n’entendons pas ;
Et ces pantins devant ces Immortels, c’est presque
Une caricature amusant une fresque.
Mais deux des mots d’argot par quoi nous patoisons
Semblent s’être échangés entre les deux toisons.
L’une veut s’arrêter dans ce bois : l’autre acquiesce.
On changera plus tard la déplorable pièce !
Et l’on voit s’arrêter les deux tas.

Les deux tas


Otent des caoutchoucs, des cuirs, des taffetas,
Des tricots, — et le rire en devient plus immense ! —
Des plastrons, des gilets de chèvre… et l’on commence
A soupçonner qu’ils sont de sexe différents ;
Et lorsque des boutons sautent les derniers rangs,
Et que le rire augmente à cause d’un pétase
De panama qui sort de treize tours de gaze ;
Quand les doigts, dégantés, ont fini d’élargir
Les fronts, ces prisonniers du masque, — on voit surgir,
L’un en complet veston, l’autre en robe princesse,
Deux êtres jeunes, beaux et gais.

Le rire cesse.
Lui jette sa casquette, et, vif, cambrant un corps
Qu’on sent être celui d’un batteur de records,
Se recoiffe. Une raie un peu trop médiane
Sépare ses cheveux sur son front. Et Diane
Voit, de ce conducteur grossier de camion,
Émerger un moderne et souple Endymion.

Car — c’est un de ces tours joués par la Jeunesse ! —


Il s’est fait le profil d’un pâtre de la Grèce
En croyant se raser comme un Américain.

Et les dieux, connaissant qu’on peut, tout aussi bien


Qu’on retrouve un Crétois dessous un Candiote,
Retrouver la beauté sous une cheviote,
Contemplent ce héros culotté d’homespon,
Qui porte — comme si par delà l’Hellespont
Il voulait conquérir de fabuleuses Troies, —
Des cnémides de cuir qu’entourent des courroies.

Elle, elle est ravissante. On ne sait pas si c’est


Toute seule ou bien avec l’aide de Doucet,
Mais elle est ravissante. Un peu brune, un peu rousse.
Un long cou remuant dans la dentelle douce
Qui la serre jusqu’aux oreilles. Des yeux verts.
La sveltesse. Le charme ondoyant et divers.
Quelque chose de plus, pourtant, qu’une Amazone.
Bref, révélant aux dieux le chic d’une autre zone,
C’est — Nymphe de Saint-Cloud, peut-être, ou de Saint-Leu !
J’en demande pardon à l’Hellade, — un Helleu !

Dès qu’elle a recroisé dans sa coiffe de paille


Les deux épingles d’or, il la prend par la taille,
Elle plie à son bras, et ce couple étonnant
Jusqu’au bord de la source arrive en bostonnant.

Stupeur des dieux.

Mais Lui, voyant de l’eau, veut boire :


Et dans ses mains, — coquille où luit la perle noire, —
Elle en puise.

Oh ! qui donc sont-ils ? Daphnis ? Chloé ?


Deux époux ? deux amants ? ou deux… ohé, ohé ?
Est-elle dans la danse ? est-il dans les négoces ?
Un prince ? une duchesse ? On ne sait pas. Deux gosses.
Mais le geste immortel des mains qui disent : « Bois ! »
A fait, à pas de loup, sortir l’Amour du bois.
Et Jupiter, toujours altéré par ce geste,
A tout d’un coup, dans son allure, bien qu’il reste
De marbre par la pose encore et la blancheur,
Je ne sais quoi qui sent son antique marcheur.

Pour écouter l’oiseau que Pan fait sur ses flûtes,


Le couple s’est assis. Tabac blond. Feu. Volutes.
Et tandis que les dieux, rêveurs et tout surpris
De trouver beaux des pieds qui sont des souliers gris,
Des cous qui sont des cols, des bras qui sont des manches,
Plus troublés qu’Actéon devant des formes blanches,
Pour voir des gens vêtus écartent les sarments,
Seul à n’avoir pas vu ces deux êtres charmants,
Vulcain, pâle, et tirant sur sa jambe débile,
Vient tomber en arrêt devant l’automobile.
Il mord ses doigts velus, le dieu des hauts-fourneaux !
A ses oreilles d’ours tremblent les grands anneaux ;
Et, l’œil torve, à pas lents, de loin, courbant l’échine,
Il se met à tourner autour de la Machine.

Les dieux ont à son front reconnu la pâleur


Qu’eut jadis Prométhée à son front de voleur ;
Et devinant de quoi cette âme est assoiffée,
Jupiter, des deux doigts, claque un appel : « Morphée ! »

Un petit vieux paraît, rythmant sa marche avec


Le bruit d’un grain qui sonne au creux d’un pavot sec.
Les situations les plus embarrassées,
Il les dénoue à coups de papavéracées.
Dès qu’il a derrière eux agité ses pavots,
Les possesseurs de la quarante-cinq chevaux
Trouvent que le grand air… la fatigue… la course…
Et s’endorment tous deux sur le bord de la source.

Vulcain vers le grand char fait un bond de boiteux.


Les dormeurs ont bougé. Mais Morphée, auprès d’eux,
Veille, et d’un sac bleuâtre où sa main preste plonge
Sort, pour Elle et pour Lui, les phantasmes du songe :
Pour Lui, des petits chars aux petits chevaux gras,
Des petites enfants aux corps de Tanagras…
Pour Elle, des petits chapeaux de violettes,
Des petits colliers d’or et des petits athlètes…
Et mille autres objets qu’une seconde il tient
Sur ces deux fronts qu’étonne un rêve athénien.

Mais autour de Vulcain tout l’Olympe fait cercle.


Il a du noir capot soulevé le couvercle,
Et son bras fauve plonge, explore. Il veut savoir.
Il va, vient, s’accroupit, découvre un réservoir,
Fait marcher un piston, tripote la pédale
Qu’on pousse lorsqu’on veut voler comme Dédale.
Sans doute, il est un peu surpris par tout cela :
Mais c’est Vulcain ! il a l’instinct du fer, il a
La divination de tout ce qui se forge !
Goupilles, manetons, bielles, bagues à gorge,
Ses doigts intelligents palpent tout. Il comprend,
Devine, reconstruit, réinvente, — et s’éprend
Du chariot vivant que nous nous fabriquâmes.
L’arbre pris dans la masse avec toutes ses cames
L’enchante. Il est Vulcain. La fonte le connaît.
Il donne un coup de poing dans son petit bonnet,
Et ce dieu, dont soudain rayonne le visage,
Trouve la pression du ressort d’embrayage.
Il ne peut plus cacher à Mars qu’il est séduit
Par le moteur qui tourne à régime réduit ;
Devant la magnéto sa joie est débordante ;
Il s’entre son bonnet comme celui de Dante ;
Il embrasse Vénus ; il force Jupiter
A se mettre à genoux pour mieux voir le carter ;
Il flatte de la main la bête fantastique,
Caresse ses gros yeux de cuivre, les astique,
Et soudain disparaît sous son ventre… Il est fou !

Quand il ressort, il a dans ses dents un écrou.

Jetant son vieux forceps noirci par les fournaises,


Dans le coffre d’outils il prend les clés anglaises.
La tunique du dieu devient un bourgeron.
Et tandis que, penché vers le grand Forgeron,
Jupiter, qu’un désir d’enlèvement tourmente,
Lui demande combien, pour ravir une Amante,
Ce monstre peut valoir de Centaures, — deux ? trois —
Vulcain ouvre, en riant, quatre fois ses dix doigts.

Puis il redisparaît en serrant sa ceinture.

A ce moment, dans les coussins de la voiture


Sous laquelle Vulcain se passe au cambouis,
On découvre un bull-dog de cinquante louis.
Il dort. Il est affreux. Diane le réveille ;
Et comme Cupidon mollement s’émerveille,
Sur cette truffe noire et luisante d’humour
Elle pose un baiser qui dit : « C’est un amour ! »
Le bull, flairant, aux plis du péplos qui se bleute,
Que cette dame-là doit avoir une meute,
L’adopte, et sans daigner, d’ailleurs, faire de frais,
Se rendort en calant son nez sur un bras frais.

Mais les dieux veulent tout visiter : c’est la douane.


On prend les sacs. Mercure, à ces choses idoine,
Fait connaître aux fermoirs ses doigts fins et musclés.
Sa main est un trousseau vivant de fausses clés !
La valise — est-il rien, pour Hermès, d’hermétique ? —
S’ouvre d’une façon toute diplomatique.
On fouille tout. Vénus arbore avec orgueil
Un chapeau qui lui met une rose sur l’œil.
Ce geste est le signal d’une scène sauvage.
Les bras des dieux sont pleins d’articles de voyage :
Argent, pégamoïd, peau de porc et cuir vert.
Hébé, folle en voyant de quoi mettre un couvert,
Vient, sur le marchepied, d’ouvrir une cantine
Ingénieuse au point qu’elle en est enfantine,
Et fait reluire, avec son chiton dorien,
Des tas d’objets anglais qui ne servent à rien.
Les nécessaires noirs entrebâillent, féroces,
Leurs gueules dont les dents sont l’ivoire des brosses ;
C’est le débarquement, sur les gazons épais,
De toute cette rue exquise de la Paix !
Des flacons que vous-même, ô Guerlain, vous remplîtes,
S’alignent, reluisants sous leurs casques d’hoplites !
On voit profondément rêver les Immortels
Devant une machine à faire les cocktails.
L’aigle de Jupiter s’aperçoit — et soupire, —
Sur un coupe-papier de cristal, genre Empire.
Et Mercure, — tandis que Phébus-Apollon
Trouve, dans un buvard de maroquin grain long,
Les vers d’un jeune auteur, et tâche, pour les lire,
D’en découvrir le rythme avec la Grande Lyre
Sur laquelle est sculpté Marsyas écorché, —
Mercure, visitant un étui guilloché,
Vole, de cette main qui toujours récidive,
Des cigarettes d’or où l’on voit le khédive.
Cupidon, qui s’empare, en criant : « Eurêka ! »
D’un diabolo de corne et de gutta-percha,
Essaye de jongler ; Vénus, pendant qu’il jongle,
Se passe un polissoir d’écaille sur un ongle ;
Et nul ne pense plus à Vulcain ; et Vulcain,
Qui vient de découvrir que le vilebrequin
Assure aux frottements une huile lente et sage,
Est livré tout entier aux beautés du graissage !
Apollon lit toujours les vers du jeune auteur ;
Hébé poursuit, avec un vaporisateur,
Mercure qui, devant le jet d’eau de Cologne,
Fuit en prenant sa pose à la Jean de Bologne.
Une boîte à bijoux, soudain, darde un tiroir :
Alors, c’est le collier, les bagues, le miroir,
Et c’est la bonbonnière à poudrer le visage
Dont, instantanément, Vénus trouve l’usage.
Rapide, elle se poudre, et prend un petit air
Que Junon aussitôt reproche à Jupiter.
Querelle. Allusions. Il est parlé d’un cygne.
Diane, cependant, qui sans scrupule assigne
Un destin fantaisiste aux objets élégants,
Pince le nez du bull avec un ouvre-gants.
— Et, couché sous l’acier du carter qu’il trépane,
Vulcain vient d’achever de réparer la panne.

A ce moment se place un double incident.

Mars
Découvre avec stupeur Kirby Beard et Leuchars ;
Mais, pour bien établir qu’il n’aime que la gloire,
De la trompe de cuivre il va presser la poire.
L’étincelant buccin pousse le cri des veaux.

Terreur des dieux. Morphée agite ses pavots.


Tout va bien. Elle dort. Il dort. On se rassure.
Et l’on regarde, au col d’un flacon noir, Mercure
Tordre un fil, qui soudain cesse de tenir bon.
Explosion. Fusée. Extra-dry. Mumm ! — D’un bond,
Les dieux sont prêts à fuir. Venus réincarcère
Tous les fers à friser dans le grand nécessaire.
Morphée agite ses pavots. Bien. Elle dort.
Il dort. On se rassure. Et dans les coupes d’or,
Tout en laissant du vol Mercure responsable,
C’est, au lieu du nectar, le champagne qu’on sable.
On en passe à Vulcain. Lui, sitôt qu’il a bu,
D’un grand revers de bras sèche un rire barbu,
Et, trouvant la liqueur acide, en redemande,
Afin de nettoyer un pignon de commande.
On en passe à Morphée. Et ce vieil Immortel
Est, dans le vin mousseux, pris d’un fou rire tel
Qu’il en laisse tomber trois gouttes dans les Rêves.
Alors, au lieu des chars, nymphes, athlètes, glaives,
Carquois, couronnes, nefs, on voit sortir du sac
Des danseuses de tulle et des clubmen en frac,
Des petites autos de fabrique française,
Des petits yachts, des petits meubles Louis Seize,
Et des petits chapeaux si grands qu’ils ont tous l’air
Du chapeau de Mistress Benwell par John Hoppner !
Vénus, très rouge, ayant de plus en plus sa rose
Sur l’œil, passe un manteau d’opossum, et propose
D’essayer la voiture : elle est pour les essais.
Cris. Tumulte. On revêt des châles écossais…
Mais on hésite. Alors, Vulcain cambre son râble,
Parfait chauffeur. Il dit combien est préférable
La nouvelle Chimère aux antiques Griffons ;
Il dit — et ses deux mains s’essuient à des chiffons,
Toutes noires d’avoir décrassé la crépine, —
La volupté de fuir, — et d’un fouet d’aubépine
Il époussette les coussins, — la volupté
De fuir, — et son doigt tourne un bouton molleté
Qui règle le débit d’huile des compte-gouttes, —
La volupté de fuir sur la blancheur des routes,
Si vite qu’à la peur de se briser les os
On ajoute la peur d’écraser les oiseaux !
« Venez ! dit-il aux dieux. Lorsqu’en ce char on grimpe,
Sur ces larges coussins bien plus que sur l’Olympe
On se sent tout à coup maître de l’Univers !
Nos dormeurs sont bercés par des songes divers :
Venez ! Nous reviendrons dans une heure, ici même. »

Vénus grimpe, esquissant de son geste un : « Qui m’aime


Me suive ! » Étant vêtu de poil de chèvre, Pan
Sent qu’il a le costume et répond en grimpant.
Ils grimpent tous, — Minerve même, un peu confuse.
Diane, à qui l’on offre une place, refuse,
Trouvant peu compatible à ses goûts forestiers
Un char qui ne peut pas passer par les sentiers.
L’Amour est réclamé par plusieurs voix rieuses :
Mais comme il n’est jamais dans les bandes joyeuses
Et qu’il voit deux amants dormir au bord de l’eau,
Il demande à rester avec son diabolo.
— « Et Phébus ? » dit Junon, s’emmitouflant de gazes.

Phébus, que fait rêver la quarante-pégases,


S’avance. Mais soudain : « Non ! » dit-il. Son front luit,
Et, pâle, il met sa lyre entre le monstre et lui.
Craint-il qu’un char trop neuf ne soit pas poétique ?
Il aime l’avenir, pourtant, ce Prophétique !
Mais, Pyroïs ! Æthon ! Eoüs ! c’est à vous
Qu’il pense, ô beaux Chevaux arrondisseurs de cous !
Et c’est à toi, Phlégon ! le plus beau du quadrige !
Quoi ! vous trahira-t-il pour goûter un vertige ?
Il fait signe à Junon qu’aux radieux Chevaux
Il ne peut pas donner d’invisibles rivaux
Qu’un Parthénon jamais n’aura sur sa métope !
Et sentant, malgré lui, qu’en lui se développe
L’amour du Monstre noir, il veut faire semblant
De demeurer fidèle à l’Attelage blanc !
Junon prend son grand air du temple d’Agrigente,
Et monte.

Mais Vulcain, qui visite une jante


Dans laquelle s’enchâsse un gros serpent python,
S’inquiète en sentant mollir le capiton
Dont il faut que la roue, en roulant, s’auréole.

Jupiter, des deux doigts, claque un appel : « Éole ! »

Le dieu dont le visage est plus pommé qu’un chou


Paraît ; puis, abouchant avec le caoutchouc
Son outre, il emprisonne au creux du pneumatique
L’air bleu qu’il destinait aux coteaux de l’Attique.
« Et du feu ? » dit Vulcain, vers les phares penché.

Jupiter, des deux doigts, claque un appel : « Psyché ! »

Un bras nu tend la lampe immortelle et fragile,


Et le bec de nickel s’allume au bec d’argile.

Vulcain met le moteur en marche. Et l’on dirait


Qu’il moud le café des Cyclopes. Tout est prêt.
Mais, pour tourner, il faut que le lourd char recule…

Jupiter, des deux doigts, claque un appel : « Hercule ! »

Croyant l’instant venu d’un treizième travail,


L’énorme demi-dieu nourri de bœuf et d’ail
Surgit. Il voit qu’un monstre aux yeux de feu s’apprête
A ravir tout l’Olympe. Il bondit, perd la tête,
D’un seul rond de massue obscurcit tout l’éther,
N’écoute pas Vulcain, n’entend pas Jupiter,
Renverse Mars qui veut empêcher la rencontre.
Rien ne peut l’arrêter, il va…

L’Amour se montre.

Alors, se souvenant d’Omphale et de son lit,


Il recule. Il a peur. Et pendant qu’il pâlit,
Vulcain peut s’expliquer. Ayant haussé l’épaule,
Le héros tend son pied vers le monstre de tôle,
Et, comme l’on écarte un fétu de méteil,
Il le fait reculer du bout de son orteil.
Puis, honteux d’un exploit qu’il trouve ridicule,
Il disparaît, d’un bond, dans le grand crépuscule.
Phébus, en feuilletant son livre dans les fleurs,
Regarde démarrer la barque aux flancs ronfleurs :
L’aigle de Jupiter bat des ailes en proue
Et l’oiseau de Junon, en poupe, fait la roue ;
Vulcain, fauve, injurie, en pressant des leviers.
Ceux qui veulent rester dans les bois d’oliviers ;
« Au revoir ! » font des bras envolés en corbeille ;
Et puis, plus rien… de la poussière… un bruit d’abeille…
Phébé fait faire au bull, de la patte : « Au revoir ! »

La nuit vient. Cupidon s’exerce à recevoir


Le diabolo : la chose aérienne monte,
Descend, deux fois, trois fois, quatre fois, — l’Amour compte.
Et, peu à peu, changeant de forme et de couleur,
Comme c’est lui qui joue, elle devient un cœur !
Morphée agite ses pavots ; le Musagète,
Voyant l’ombre tomber sur le livre, le jette ;
Et les songes, autour des dormeurs, vont dansant…
Tandis qu’au loin, faisant du quatre-vingts, du cent,
Projetant sa lumière en deux terribles cônes
Que traversent parfois, d’un bond, des petits faunes,
L’automobile fuit, toute pleine de dieux,
Et que, cessant déjà d’être mélodieux,
Et sur le marchepied accroupi comme un singe,
Pan déchire le soir des cris de sa syringe !

Une heure après. Le Bois. Les amants endormis.


La machine a repris sa place. On a remis
Tout en ordre. Les dieux ont disparu. Morphée
S’est envolé. Le vent, d’une fraîche bouffée,
Vient d’éveiller le couple. Un petit cri d’effroi.
Comment a-t-on dormi si longtemps ? Il fait froid.
Lui se lève, songeant à cette panne. Un phare
L’éblouit. Quoi ! les deux… rallumés ? Il s’effare.
Elle, non. Mais il voit que tout est réparé.
— « Bah ! on s’étonnera quand on sera rentré ! »
Bâille-t-elle. Mais Lui, de nouveau, gesticule,
Car les pneus sont plus durs que les biceps d’Hercule.
— « Tant mieux ! Partons ! » Et comme elle réendossa
Son Pélion de poils, il remet son Ossa.
Mais elle a tressailli : quel est, dans la doublure,

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